CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Bishops

Mark Pritchard: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if the Church Commissioners will take steps to seek to ensure that decisions on future numbers of bishops to be appointed to Church of England dioceses are taken on the basis of the  (a) size and  (b) level of pastoral activity of each such diocese.

Stuart Bell: Under the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007, questions relating to the number of dioceses and the number of suffragan bishops within dioceses are the responsibility of the Dioceses Commission. Final decisions are taken by the General Synod.
	In its work the Dioceses Commission will certainly have regard to the size of dioceses and the level of pastoral activity within them, but there are many other considerations affecting the workload of bishops in individual dioceses that also need to be borne in mind.

Church of England: Finance

David Drew: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what average financial contribution was made to each diocese by each of its parishioners in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stuart Bell: In 2007, the last year for which figures are available, the "parish share" contributed to the dioceses annually per church member (as opposed to per "parishioner"), was as follows:
	
		
			  Diocese  Parish share contributed to diocese per church member (£) 
			 Bath and Wells 314 
			 Birmingham 326 
			 Blackburn 292 
			 Bradford 461 
			 Bristol 421 
			 Canterbury 362 
			 Carlisle 335 
			 Chelmsford 369 
			 Chester 299 
			 Chichester 291 
			 Coventry 341 
			 Derby 349 
			 Durham 313 
			 Ely 310 
			 Exeter 333 
			 Gloucester 294 
			 Guildford 428 
			 Hereford 286 
			 Leicester 360 
			 Lichfield 339 
			 Lincoln 234 
			 Liverpool 279 
			 London 338 
			 Manchester 299 
			 Newcastle 300 
			 Norwich 379 
			 Oxford 358 
			 Peterborough 365 
			 Portsmouth 302 
			 Ripon and Leeds 406 
			 Rochester 123 
			 St Albans 351 
			 St Edmundsbury and Ipswich 333 
			 Salisbury 306 
			 Sheffield 343 
			 Southwark 414 
			 Southwell and Nottingham 356 
			 Truro 284 
			 Wakefield 343 
			 Winchester 350 
			 Worcester 340 
			 York 298 
		
	
	My hon. Friend will also note that the diocese of Europe is not included (because it does not submit parish finance returns like other dioceses) and nor is the diocese of Sodor and Man (for which the figures are too small to produce a reliable average).
	It should also be noted that parish share is not necessarily paid for out of members' voluntary giving. It is, however, the best proxy for the purpose of this Question.

Church of England: Finance

Nick Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 426W, on Church of England: finance, what percentage of the Church of England's running costs was met by the Church Commissioners in each of the last five years;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 326W, on Church of England: finance, what exact percentage of the Church of England's running costs was met by the Church Commissioners in each of the last five years.

Stuart Bell: In the last five years for which whole-Church figures are available, the percentage of the Church's running costs represented by the Church Commissioners' support was as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2002 17 
			 2003 16 
			 2004 16 
			 2005 15 
			 2006 15

Departmental Land

Nick Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 40W, on departmental land, 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the itemised cost of establishing how many acres of agricultural land were sold by the Church Commissioners in each year from 2000 to 2008;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the cost of establishing how many acres of agricultural land were sold by the Church Commissioners in each year from 2000 to 2008, broken down by cost heading.

Stuart Bell: This exercise would entail staff consulting at least 220 files, many of which would have to be retrieved from the Commissioners' off-site archive. While I have not made a fully itemised assessment of the cost, I would estimate that the exercise would take approximately 45 man-hours to complete and that the direct cost of this staff time alone would be in the region of £1,500.
	The indirect cost of senior professional staff being distracted from their management of the portfolio by such an exercise is, of course, harder to judge.

Departmental Property

Nick Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners 
	(1)  what the value has been of the capital receipts generated by the Commissioners' Rural Strategic Property portfolio in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much in capital receipts was generated by the Church Commissioners' rural strategic property portfolio in each of the last five years.

Stuart Bell: The value of the capital receipts generated by the Commissioners' rural strategic property portfolio in each of the last five years was as follows:-
	
		
			   Value (£ million) 
			 2004 9.4 
			 2005 5.6 
			 2006 11.7 
			 2007 25.9 
			 2008 17.9

Departmental Property

David Maclean: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what procedures the Church Commissioners follow to determine the appropriate use for a former see house with a chapel when such a property is considered no longer suitable as an episcopal residence; and what steps the Commissioners take to consult  (a) local communities and  (b) diocesan authorities on the future use of such properties.

Stuart Bell: All see houses are provided with chapels. These chapels vary quite significantly but are private chapels solely for the use of the bishop and his ministry. Given their status as private chapels they usually fall outside the remit of the Pastoral Measure and do not form any specific part of the Commissioners' consultation on the future of a house.
	Where the future of any see house is under consideration the Commissioners' policy is to consult widely, including with the diocesan authorities.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Written Answers

Simon Burns: To ask the Leader of the House what recent assessment she has made of the performance of Government Departments in providing timely answers to parliamentary questions for written answer; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Keeley: My right hon. and learned Friend and I keep the quality and timeliness of Ministers' answers to written parliamentary questions under continuous review. We are happy to make representations on behalf of Members' to Departments. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the publication of the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions; the Government will respond to this very soon.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Political Parties and Elections Bill

Gordon Prentice: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the workability of the provisions in the Political Parties and Elections Bill on donors who are not resident in the UK for tax purposes.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it considered the workability of these provisions when the Political Parties and Elections Bill was before Parliament, and set out its views in its briefing notes at that time. The notes are available on the Commission's website:
	www.electoralcommission.org.uk
	and copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	In summary, the Commission's view was that the provisions finally incorporated in the Act addressed some of its concerns about previous amendments. In particular, the provisions clarified the obligations of those receiving donations that require a declaration from the donor about tax status. However, the Commission said that it would be helpful if the Government could explain the steps that recipients should take if they doubt the accuracy of a declaration, and clarify how donations should be aggregated for the purpose of establishing whether a declaration is required.
	In terms of enforcement of the new provisions, the Commission informs me that it would expect to pass on any allegation that an individual had made a false declaration about their tax status to the police or another appropriate authority.

TRANSPORT

Crossrail Line: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much has been  (a) spent on and  (b) committed to the Crossrail project by (i) the Government and (ii) the private sector; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of the final cost of the project each such figure represents.

Sadiq Khan: Crossrail Ltd. (CRL) is delivering Crossrail on behalf of both Project Sponsors (the Department for Transport and Transport for London) and has spent £401 million in relation to the construction of Crossrail (excluding recoverable VAT on land and property purchases) since the granting of Royal Assent on 22 July 2008. In line with undertakings given to the House, expenditure from this date is reported annually, and I refer the hon. Member to the first of these statements, made to the House on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 80-81WS.
	The profile of direct expenditure by private sector partners is a commercial matter for those partners.
	The Crossrail funding package, announced by the Prime Minister in October 2007, is designed to strike a fair balance in securing financial contributions from all those who will benefit from the scheme-Government, businesses and passengers.
	Central Government, through the Department for Transport, have committed £5.1 billion of direct funding to Crossrail, which amounts to approximately one third of the funding package, in line with the estimated costs of construction of £15.9 billion.
	Private sector commitments to Crossrail include a number of commercial agreements with private sector companies to provide contributions to Crossrail, given the benefits which will flow to businesses as a result of the scheme.
	These include agreements with Canary Wharf Group, City of London, Berkeley Homes Group and BAA, as well as wider contributions being made through Business Rate Supplements, the planned Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 developer contributions. Such commitments constitute approximately one third of the Crossrail funding package.

Invalid Vehicles: Accidents

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many mobility scooter accidents involving  (a) children and  (b) adults have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Paul Clark: The information requested cannot be identified separately. Accidents involving mobility scooters are recorded in the 'other' category alongside other types of vehicle. To separately provide mobility scooter statistics could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Railways: Electrification

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport by what date he expects a contract to have been signed to deliver each rail electrification scheme he has announced to date.

Chris Mole: On 23 July the Government announced a major £1.1 billion programme of rail electrification. The routes to be electrified are: (i) the Great Western Main Line between London and Swansea; and (ii) the line between Liverpool and Manchester via Newton-le-Willows.
	As with other rail investments, both schemes will be delivered by Network Rail. Details of contracts with suppliers are a matter for Network Rail and the schemes will be completed by (i) 2017 and (ii) 2013 respectively.

Railways: Netherlands

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what barriers to the introduction of a through high-speed service between London and Amsterdam have been identified by his Department; and what steps his Department is taking to overcome them.

Chris Mole: Government policy is to encourage competition on High Speed One from 2010 and to expand the number of European destinations available by rail from the UK. Discussions have been held with rail operators in a number of other European Union countries on providing such services, including from London to Amsterdam. The Government will require security and immigration requirements to be met by any new services. It will be for the future operator of High Speed One to market the railway and to agree terms of access with international train operators.

Roads: Accidents

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many road traffic accidents involving  (a) cars and  (b) motorcycles in which at least one driver was found to be at fault have occurred in Essex in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the age of the driver at fault.

Paul Clark: The information requested is not collected. The reported road accident statistics do not assign fault to any of the parties involved in personal injury road accidents. The information collected by the police officer at the scene of the accident is limited to probable contributory factors which may have contributed to the accident.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Advertising

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which initiatives of his Department and its agencies expenditure on advertising has been incurred in each of the last five years; how much was spent on each such initiative; and which such initiatives were advertised through the Central Office of Information.

Paul Goggins: Advertising is an important form of communication which is used by the Northern Ireland Office to inform and encourage the public to contribute to the debate around proposed changes to legislation and deliver important public safety messages to as wide an audience as possible.
	The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, including the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland and its agencies, but excluding its NDPBs, has spent on advertising initiatives in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  £ 
			   NIO core  Forensic science NI  Youth Justice Agency 
			 2004-05 151,998.70 - - 
			 2005-06 213,119.67 - - 
			 2006-07 174,941.56 - - 
			 2007-08 357,956.92 - 1,318.76 
			 2008-09 416,799.12 1,272.74 - 
		
	
	The Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Compensation Agency had no such expenditure.
	The following details each initiative, the amount spent and whether or not the Central Office of Information (COI) was used to advertise the initiative.
	
		
			  Initiative  Amount (£)  COI used 
			  NIO core   
			  2004-05   
			 Advertising Draft ASBO Order 2,732.23 Yes 
			 Advertising Consultation on ASBO Order 1,187.93 Yes 
			 Advertising Draft Criminal Justice Order 1,544.30 Yes 
			 Advertising Criminal Justice Commencement Order 1,847.72 Yes 
			 Advertising Public Consultation on Road Traffic 2,200.61 Yes 
			 Advertising for Criminal Justice Consultation 1,906.32 Yes 
			 Advertising Public Consultation on Review Sentencing Framework 1,482.19 Yes 
			 Public Consultation on Draft Proposal for a Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2005 2,167.69 Yes 
			 Unknown Callers TV Ad 45,810.75 No 
			 Theft from Vehicles 91,118.96 No 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Public Consultation on Corporate Manslaughter 2,047.27 Yes 
			 Public Consultation on Corruption 1,565.57 Yes 
			 Unknown Callers TV Ad 114,797.00 No 
			 Theft from Vehicles 94,709.83 No 
			
			  2006-07   
			 Advertising Criminal Justice Awards 5,192.77 Yes 
			 Advertising Criminal Justice Awards 1,999.80 Yes 
			 Rehabilitation of Offenders 2,169.29 Yes 
			 Law on Knives 1,866.22 Yes 
			 Sexual Offences Consultation 1,866.22 Yes 
			 Test for Quashing Convictions 2,239.46 Yes 
			 Make Sure Crime Doesn't Pay Consultation 2,363.88 Yes 
			 Consultation on Road Traffic 1,886.22 Yes 
			 Unknown Callers TV Ad 950.00 No 
			 Theft from Vehicles 34,688.45 No 
			 Domestic Violence Media Campaign 50,000.00 No 
			 Recording Incidents of Hate Project 5,889.25 No 
			 Knife Crime Media Campaign 63,830.00 No 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Firework Campaign 38,000.00 No 
			 Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act 2007 1,437.63 Yes 
			 Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act 2007 1,437.63 Yes 
			 Public Consultation on Draft Proposal for a Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2007 2,643.73 Yes 
			 Advertising Proposed Draft Sexual Offences 2,907.47 Yes 
			 Public Consultation Possession of Non Photographic Images 2,346.70 Yes 
			 Unknown Callers TV Ad 50,199.50 No 
			 Theft from Vehicles 63,492.46 No 
			 Domestic Violence Media Campaign 175,491.80 No 
			 Fireworks Public Safety Campaign 20,000.00 No 
			  2008-09   
			 Consultation on proposals for reform of law on murder/manslaughter and infanticide 2,126.77 Yes 
			 Consultation on Fine Default 1,987.74 Yes 
			 Changes to the Law on Sexual Offences 135.70 Yes 
			 Changes to the Law on Sexual Offences 1,104.00 Yes 
			 Changes to the Law on Sexual Offences 6,601.69 Yes 
			 Blue Cube Interactive Adverts in Cinema on Sexual Offences 3,057.28 Yes 
			 Blue Cube cost on Line Management 1,427.15 Yes 
			 Advert for Implementing Electronic Monitoring 344.05 Yes 
			 Advert for Implementing Electronic Monitoring 128.64 Yes 
			 Changes to the Law on Sexual Offences 18,748.63 No 
			 Unknown Callers TV Ad 102,030.42 No 
			 Theft from Vehicles 78,682.05 No 
			 Close it, Lock it, Check it Campaign 169,425.00 No 
			 Campus Watch 11,000.00 No 
			 Fireworks Public Safety Campaign 20,000.00 No 
			
			  Youth Justice Agency 2007-08   
			 TAG Rugby Initiative 1,318.76 No 
			
			  Forensic Science Northern Ireland 2008-09   
			 Pens, mugs, badge reels 1,272.74 No

Departmental Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff there were in his Department  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The total number of staff in the Northern Ireland Office (excluding agencies, executive and non-departmental public bodies) on the dates requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   NIO staff numbers 
			  September  
			 1997 677.5 
			 2009 1287 
		
	
	The September 1997 information is held in terms of full-time equivalent staff. The September 2009 information is held in terms of actual numbers of staff employed. The increase in staff numbers is largely due to the expansion of the Public Prosecution Service.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of the satellite photographs produced by the Rural Payments Agency as part of the Single Payment Scheme Remote Sensing project has been in 2009 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The raw satellite images used by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for controls with remote sensing are provided, without charge, to participating member states by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. There is therefore no cost incurred by RPA for the images themselves.
	However, processing these images requires RPA to engage a specialist contractor. The total contract budget for this specialist work in 2009 is £518,520. The processed images are used not only to check SPS applications but also to inform updates to the Rural Land Register.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average change in Single Payment Scheme payments per holding as a result of the Single Payment Scheme Remote Sensing exercise.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Work on the 2009 remote sensing exercise is still under way.
	In 2008 95 per cent. of all land remote sensed was found to be correct. Since each customer's entitlement value is different the scale of change in payment will vary from customer to customer.
	However, using the average farm size for remote sensing in 2008 of 63.35 hectares, this meant an average change per farm of three hectares. At flat rate payment values for 2008 this equates to a £336.51 payment reduction per holding (before modulation).

Animals: Exports

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live  (a) cattle,  (b) horses,  (c) sheep and  (d) ponies were exported in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Data collected from the EU Commission's Trade Control Expert System (TRACES) indicate that the following number of live cattle, equines (including both horses and ponies) and sheep were certified by official veterinarians as meeting the intra-Community trade rules for dispatch from the United Kingdom to other EU member states in the specified year:
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 Equidae 6,318 8,090 6,691 
			 Cattle 152,835 193,309 112,740 
			 Sheep 293,196 207,845 319,700 
		
	
	The available TRACES data do not distinguish between horses or ponies, therefore the figures for these animals is combined under the heading of 'equidae'. In addition, the Tripartite Agreement between the UK, Republic of Ireland and France allows most equidae to move between these countries without the need for the movement to be recorded on TRACES. Therefore, these movements are not captured in the above data.
	Data for earlier years have not been provided because they are not currently available in a format which allows any direct comparison to that supplied above.
	The figures are subject to updating and amendment.
	The number of animals certified for export from the United Kingdom to countries outside of the EU is not recorded centrally, meaning that it is not possible to provide these data.

Farming Link

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of producing and distributing the  Farming Link publication in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is included in the following table.  Farming Link was not published prior to spring 2007.
	
		
			   Design (£)  Print (£)  Postage (£) 
			 Spring 2007 19,771 31,900 (1)- 
			 Summer 2007 23,017 29,196 32,435 
			 Autumn 2007 23,017 27,495 (2)0 
			 Winter 2007-08 27,797 24,525 39,888 
			 Spring 2008 28,892 31,310 28,925 
			 Summer 2008 29,326 29,611 35,571 
			 Autumn 2008 28,856 29,611 28,133 
			 Winter 2008-09 28,242 29,690 28,198 
			 Spring 2009 28,679 31,120 (1)- 
			 Summer 2009 28,476 32,476 29,874 
			 Autumn 2009 24,259 32,956 (1)- 
			 (1) Figure not available.(  2) This edition was not distributed as it fell between the lifting of the first foot and mouth disease outbreak restrictions and the second outbreak on 12 September, 2007.

Farms: Inspections

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farm inspections were conducted by each inspection body in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is as follows:
	 Rural Payments Agency
	The RPA Inspectorate conducted the following inspections in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Number of inspections 
			 2004-05 11,779 
			 2005-06 11,951 
			 2006-07 13,869 
			 2007-08 14,457 
			 2008-09 14,461 
			 (1) RPA Inspections are detailed by financial year, therefore the table refers to inspections made from 1 April to 31 March in each year. 
		
	
	In addition our Horticultural Marketing Inspectors, who merged with the RPA Inspectorate on 1 April 2006, carried out the following inspections at the premises of glasshouse growers, market gardeners etc:
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Number of inspections 
			 2006-07 1,364 
			 2007-08 1,230 
			 2008-09 1,170 
			 (1) RPA HMI Inspections are detailed by financial year, as above. 
		
	
	 Animal Health
	
		
			  Year  TB  Welfare 
			 2005 82,272 3,421 
			 2006 115,868 3,860 
			 2007 132,806 4,003 
			 2008 136,877 4,143 
			 2009 105,760 2,947 
			 Notes: 1. 2009 data cover the period 1 January to 30 September 2009. 2. TB inspections include all tests carried out by AH Staff and OV's. 
		
	
	Figures for Veterinary Medicines Visit Management System for medicines farm visits, including revisits, are:
	
		
			   Visits 
			 2008 2,683 
			 Financial year 2008-09 2,682 
			 2009 to date 1,972 
		
	
	There would also be many other farm visits carried out e.g. animal by-products visits, disease surveillance for salmonella, sheep surveys, avian influenza surveys etc. There are also visits carried out by Egg Marketing Inspectorate and Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate. We have been unable to provide details of these due to disproportionate cost.
	 Veterinary Medicine Directorate
	VMD's contribution to this reply based on calendar years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			  2004  
			 Routine/scheduled 548 
			 Follow up/special 39 
			 Total 587 
			   
			  2005  
			 Routine/scheduled 635 
			 Follow up/special 51 
			 Total 686 
			   
			  2006  
			 Routine/scheduled 509 
			 Follow up/special 26 
			 Total 535 
			   
			  2007  
			 Routine/scheduled 279 
			 Follow up/special 19 
			 Fish farms 82 
			 Total 380 
			   
			  2008  
			 Routine/scheduled 273 
			 Follow up/special 20 
			 Fish farms 24 
			 Total 317 
			  Note: Inspection of fish farms mixing medicated feeds began in 2006, but inspection of such premises were not separately identified. 
		
	
	 Environment Agency
	The following table shows the number of single regime, integrated and cross-compliance inspections that have been undertaken by the Environment Agency in the last five years.
	
		
			   Number of visits 
			 2004-05 6,504 
			 2005-06 5,835 
			 2006-07 5,767 
			 2007-08 6,768 
			 2008-09 5,787 
			  Source: EA Operations Performance Data (2004-05 to 2008-09) 
		
	
	 The Food and Environment Research Agency
	The Food and Environment Research Agency's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate carry out technical inspections of crops and commodities on farms. These are inherently different to the inspections undertaken by other agencies. The figures for the last five years are as follows:
	2005: 6,570 inspections at 2,116 visits to 734 farms
	2006: 12,223 inspections at 6,653 visits to 1,865 farms
	2007: 11,337 inspections at 6,099 visits to 1,609 farms
	2008: 12,218 inspections at 6,398 visits to 1,523 farms
	2009 (to date): 9,419 inspections at 4,762 visits to 1,439 farms.
	The National Bee Unit's Bee Inspectors carry out inspections of apiaries for statutory bee diseases. The figures for these inspections are as follows:
	2005: 4,035
	2006: 4,034
	2007: 4,488
	2008: 4,422
	2009: 7,318 (to date)
	However, it is not possible to distinguish how many of these were to bee farmers or to amateur beekeepers (approx. 99 per cent. of beekeepers are amateurs).
	GM audits (seed) do not take place on farms. GM trial inspections are focused on the trial itself only, and very often take place on research institutes, etc and therefore these figures are not included.

Fisheries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions the monitoring of  (a) fish stocks and  (b) other marine wildlife has been instigated following the loss of a harmful cargo into the sea since 1 May 2007; what the results of such monitoring was; and what the (i) nature of the harmful cargo, (ii) location and (iii) period of monitoring was in each case.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 June 2009,  Official Report, column 572W.
	Since the MSC Napoli was breached in Lyme Bay on 20 January 2007, the containers on the beach and any litter have now been cleared and the beaches have been available for public access since Easter 2007. Furthermore, in 2007 the bow was recycled at Harland and Woolf's dry dock in Belfast, and the stern was raised using heavy lifting equipment and dismantled in situ earlier this year.
	The Marine Fisheries Agency has reviewed their Marine Pollution Contingency Plan to take account of lessons learnt from the MSC Napoli incident. A copy of the plan is available at:
	www.mfa.gov.uk/environment/documents/lnternet-Marine-Pollution-Contingency-Plan.pdf

Milk: Overseas Trade

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the liquid whole milk equivalent volume of  (a) imports and  (b) exports of milk-based products in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not possible to provide the different milk products in liquid milk equivalent. It is a complex calculation which can lead to double counting. The following table shows the UK trade in milk products for 2006-08.
	
		
			2006  2007  2008 
			  Flow  Description  Tonnes  £000s  Tonnes  £000s  Tonnes  £000s 
			 Imports Cheese 378,105 885,940 402,936 930,342 421,800 1,195,175 
			  Yoghurt 143,591 124,378 137,793 124,798 159,158 164,743 
			  Buttermilk 134,692 115,063 143,902 113,512 151,679 143,339 
			  Butter 147,139 334,749 103,231 228,565 81,402 233,576 
			  Ice Cream 90,716 136,834 92,729 139,481 95,781 162,619 
			  Condensed milk 45,367 41,956 40,841 43,909 39,051 45,857 
			  Whey 21,452 17,282 25,334 30,218 22,066 21,951 
			  Other 3,498 5,367 3,305 5,563 3,223 6,978 
			 Imports total  964,561 1,661,568 950,070 1,616,388 974,159 1,974,237 
			 
			 Exports Cheese 104,212 230,624 97,174 241,260 88,420 281,306 
			  Whey 74,112 32,612 66,702 42,157 74,040 31,843 
			  Ice Cream 55,587 50,319 39,007 47,793 33,316 48,435 
			  Butter 35,670 59,914 31,662 66,170 23,751 54,772 
			  Buttermilk 22,080 8,381 25,107 9,720 14,015 8,283 
			  Yoghurt 17,189 25,322 16,911 29,302 16,694 34,602 
			  Condensed milk 6,346 8,326 5,615 8,123 3,052 5,375 
			  Other 553 2,323 634 1,922 511 1,588 
			 Exports total  315,748 417,820 282,812 446,447 253,797 466,203 
			  Source:  HM Revenue and Customs. Data prepared by Trade Statistics, Economics and Statistics Programme, DEFRA.

Nitrates: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of implementation of the Nitrates Directive on tenant farmers whose landlords may have applied nitrates to the tenanted land.

Huw Irranca-Davies: No such assessment has been made. However, normally a landlord cannot apply nitrates to a tenant's land without the permission of the tenant, unless the tenancy agreement specifically provides for this. A tenant is considered to be the occupier of the land under the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations (2008) and is therefore responsible for compliance with the regulations.

Ragwort: Weed Control

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle ragwort on public property; and what guidance it has provided to local authorities on the subject.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has published a Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort. The Code provides comprehensive guidance on how to develop a strategic and cost-effective approach to weed control. It is intended for use by all landowners and occupiers but is particularly relevant for large-scale organisations managing significant land areas, including local authorities and public bodies who are primarily responsible for the control of Common Ragwort on their land.
	DEFRA also has an enforcement procedure under the Weeds Act 1959 for investigating complaints about the injurious weeds specified in the Act, including Common Ragwort.
	Under this procedure, complaints about the spread of injurious weeds are prioritised. Natural England (on DEFRA's behalf) investigates complaints where weeds are threatening to spread to land used for: keeping or grazing horses and other livestock; farmland used to produce conserved forage; or other agricultural land activities, and the complainant has already made reasonable efforts to contact the landowner or occupier where the weeds are growing.
	The Ragwort Code of Practice and details of the complaints procedure can be found on DEFRA's website.

JUSTICE

Cybercrime

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions,  (b) convictions and  (c) police cautions there have been for offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: Information showing the number of defendants issued with a caution, proceeded against at magistrates courts, and found guilty at all courts for offences under the 1990 Computer Misuse Act in England and Wales from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
	
		
			  Number of defendants issued with a caution( 1, 2) , proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts( 3) , for offences under the 1990 Computer Misuse Act( 4) , England and Wales, 2003 - 07( 5) 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Cautioned 16 32 29 46 75 
			 Proceeded against 19 21 24 25 19 
			 Found guilty 5 12 16 18 10 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4) Covers the following: Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences (Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec 2). Unauthorised modification of computer material (Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec 3). Unauthorised access to computer material (Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec.1). (5) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Evidence and Analysis Unit-Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Employment and Support Allowance: Tribunals

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeals for Employment and Support Allowance are outstanding in the East of England; and how many such appeals there are in relation to mental health.

Bridget Prentice: The Tribunals Service First Tier Tribunal-Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) is responsible for Employment and Support Allowance Appeals. The tribunal does not have a defined eastern region and collects information on an area basis. The hon. Member's constituency lies within the area known as Greater London and the South East.
	As of 8 October 2009, there were 3,221 live cases in the Greater London and South East area.
	Information is not collected on the number of outstanding employment and support allowance appeals that relate to mental health and could be provided only at disproportionate cost by making a manual check of each case file.

Employment Tribunals Service

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to undertake a formal evaluation and review of the new enforcement regime for unpaid employment tribunal awards.

Bridget Prentice: The new process for the enforcement of Employment Tribunal awards within the court system will be evaluated and reviewed within a two year period of the date of its commencement.

Employment Tribunals Service

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the new enforcement mechanism for unpaid Employment Tribunal awards that he announced on 19 May 2009 will be  (a) free at the point of delivery for those seeking to enforce an unpaid award and  (b) applied retrospectively.

Bridget Prentice: The terms and details of the new enforcement mechanism for Employment Tribunal awards are still the subject of discussion with the High Court Enforcement Officers Association. As soon as agreement has been reached on the details of the scheme and High Court Enforcement Officer involvement secured amendments to the Court Civil Procedure Rules will be brought forward. I will update you further as soon as I am able.

Employment Tribunals Service: Compensation

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that compensation awarded to a plaintiff by an employment tribunal is paid without recourse to the courts.

Bridget Prentice: There are no provisions within current legislation to allow the employment tribunals (ET) to enforce their own awards and there are no plans at present to change this. ET awards can be enforced through Her Majesty's Court Service. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 enabled the introduction of new provisions in April 2009 to simplify the system for enforcing unpaid ET awards in the county court. These include new information leaflets, removal of the registration fee, creation of a customer service help-line and registration of the award on the Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines. Work is also under way to create a scheme in which a nominated High Court Enforcement Officer is assigned to enforce awards originating from employment tribunals.

Injunctions

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will  (a) collect and  (b) publish statistics on the number of non-reportable injunctions issued by the High Court in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested is not available. The High Court collects figures on applications, however injunctions are not separately identifiable, and there are currently no plans to amend databases to do so.

National Offender Management Service: Manpower

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 831-2W, on the National Offender Management Service, how long each of the 184 employees have been registered as surplus under the terms of the Managing Surplus Employees Scheme.

Maria Eagle: It is not possible to provide a retrospective review of each of the 184 employees who were identified at the time of the previous answer. The National Offender Management Service was at that time transferring its information to a Redeployment Register within a new on line service that manages both recruitment and vacancy management. Information was therefore drawn from both the online Redeployment Register and a legacy system.
	148 employees records had been transferred to the NOMS Redeployment Register by 13 May. 36 records were found to be inappropriately entered on the spreadsheet as those staff were not surplus and therefore their entries were deleted from the database. A detailed breakdown is given in the following table. More detailed information is not available.
	
		
			  Number of staff  Number of days on register as of 13 May 
			 2 27 
			 2 26 
			 6 22 
			 15 21 
			 22 20 
			 13 19 
			 11 16 
			 5 15 
			 16 14 
			 4 13 
			 9 12 
			 22 8 
			 9 7 
			 2 6 
			 1 5 
			 4 2 
			 4 1 
			 1 (1)0 
			 148  
			 (1)0 = entered on register on  13 May

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours of time spent by  (a) judges and  (b) lay members were allocated to Parole Board oral hearings in respect of prisoners on (i) whole life tariffs and (ii) other sentences in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The Parole Board does not record the number of hours spent on oral hearings by individual members as members (other than serving judges) are paid a set fee for each hearing they attend. The average three member oral hearing day starts at 10.30am and finishes at 5 p.m. with an average of two cases being heard. This does not take into account the time spent by members reading papers in advance of the hearing day and writing detailed decision letters after the hearing. Most three member oral hearing panels are chaired by a judge with a psychiatrist or psychologist when necessary and an independent member.
	Judges are expected to allocate 15 days a year to Parole Board work, independent members 2.5 days per week and specialist members 35 days a year. The total number of three member oral hearings cases considered over the past five years is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2004-05 1,341 
			 2005-06 1,512 
			 2006-07 1,831 
			 2007-08 2,072 
			 2008-09 2,330 
		
	
	Whole life tariff cases are not referred to the Parole Board.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were awaiting a Parole Board post-panel review on the latest date for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: As at 31 July 2009, 34 cases were awaiting review by the Parole Board's Post Panel Department.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) longest,  (b) shortest and  (c) average period of time is for which a case for (i) oral hearing, (ii) paper hearing and (iii) other consideration before the Parole Board has been outstanding.

Bridget Prentice: The most up to date information about waiting times, as at 31 July 2009, is reflected as follows:
	 (i) Oral  hearings
	Three member oral hearing (indeterminate sentences):
	 (a) One year six months.
	 (b) One month.
	 (c) Five months.
	Single member oral hearings (determinate sentences):
	 (a) 11 months.
	 (b) One month.
	 (c) Three months.
	 (ii) Paper  hearings
	Paper hearings/pre-tariff (indeterminate sentences):
	 (a) 16 months.
	 (b) One month.
	 (c) Three months.
	Paper hearings (determinate sentences):
	 (a) Seven days.
	 (b) One day.
	 (c) 2.9 days.
	 (iii) Other consideration before the Parole Board has been outstanding
	The Parole Board does not give 'other consideration' to cases other than the paper and oral hearings referred to above.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases for  (a) oral hearings,  (b) paper hearings and  (c) other consideration before the Parole Board were outstanding on the latest date for which figures are available.  [Official Report, 23 November 2009, Vol. 501, c. 5MC.]

Bridget Prentice: As at the 31 July 2009 the number of cases was as follows:
	 (a) There were 1,625 indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPPs) cases awaiting three member oral hearings and 126 determinate cases awaiting single member oral hearings
	 (b) There were 324 IPPs cases awaiting a paper pre-tariff hearing.
	 (c) The Parole Board does not give 'other consideration' to cases other than the paper and oral hearings referred to above.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders whose tariffs had expired remained in prison while they awaited listing for an  (a) oral hearing,  (b) paper hearing and  (c) other consideration before the Parole Board on the latest date for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The tariff is the minimum period specified by the court which must be served before a prisoner is eligible for release on parole. There is nothing automatic about release on expiry of tariff, as the decision as to whether to release an offender has to be based on the assessed risk of harm which he presents-not on whether he has served the minimum period of imprisonment specified by the court. Therefore, any prisoner whose tariff has expired will remain in prison while they are awaiting an oral hearing, paper hearing or other consideration by the Parole Board to determine whether the risk of harm which they present is such that it might be safely managed in the community.
	The total number of indeterminate prisoners whose tariff has expired and who were awaiting consideration as at 31 July 2009 was 1,284.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the operations of the Parole Board of its taking on the status of a court; what additional responsibilities the Parole Board would have under such arrangements; and what estimate he has made of the funding required by the Parole Board to discharge those responsibilities.

Bridget Prentice: We have recently published a consultation paper, 'The Future of the Parole Board', in which we are asking stakeholders to consider how best the Board be managed to ensure its independence from the Executive and its effectiveness and efficiency.
	The paper is a first step in the consultation process and accordingly lays out a number of options for the future management of the Board. They are:
	to leave existing sponsorship arrangements as they are; to transfer sponsorship of the Parole Board to Her Majesty Courts Service (HMCS) or the Tribunals Service;
	to integrate the Parole Board fully into HMCS; and
	to integrate the Parole Board fully into the Tribunals Service.
	Until findings from the initial consultation are published in February 2010, the Ministry has not taken a view on the possible future arrangements for the management of the Board. Accordingly we have not undertaken detailed assessments of the effects of each of these options on the operations of the Board.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many judicial reviews brought in relation to  (a) the time taken to hear a case and  (b) other matters the Parole Board (i) is contesting and (ii) has contested in each of the last five years; and what costs the Parole Board has incurred on contesting judicial reviews in each such year.

Bridget Prentice: The Parole Board only has figures for the past three years and includes all judicial review cases considered as follows:
	
		
			   (a)  (b)  Costs( 1)  (£) 
			 2006-07 8 74 113,850 
			 2007-08 48 81 427,162 
			 2008-09 60 48 770,529 
			 (1) Costs include solicitors' fees and any costs and compensation awarded to claimants. All costs are borne by the Ministry of Justice.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Parole Board has taken in response to the recommendations of the National Audit Office report on Protecting the public: the work of the Parole Board, HC 239, 2007-08, published in March 2008.

Bridget Prentice: The Parole Board has been working closely with the Ministry of Justice on an action plan to implement the recommendations of the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee following publication of the report "Protecting the public: the work of the Parole Board". In particular the following progress has been made.
	A new generic parole process was introduced from 1 April 2009 whereby the performance of all agencies involved in the parole process can be monitored.
	An agreement has been reached about the mandatory documents required by the Parole Board and the production of prisoners' dossiers is being monitored.
	A single IT system has been introduced that can be accessed by all relevant agencies.
	Amended Parole Board Rules came into force on 1 April 2009.
	A Reasons Framework was introduced from January 2009 and members are now required to provide evidence that they have "signed off" the final draft of the reasons for their decision.
	The work load of members is monitored on a monthly basis. It shows that on average independent members are undertaking more than their expected work load.
	Measures are being taken which are aimed at increasing the number of judges available to carry out Parole Board work.
	Decisions and the reasons given for them are being reviewed by random sampling to assess them for quality.
	The 2009 member recruitment round included a project with Operation Black Vote aimed at increasing the number of BME members on the Parole Board.
	A public consultation paper on the future status of the Parole Board was published on 20 July 2009 for comment by 20 November 2009.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) longest and  (b) average period was between the original and rescheduled date of a deferred oral hearing before the Parole Board on the latest date for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The longest period between the original and rescheduled date of a deferred oral hearing before the Parole Board as at 31 July 2009 was 13.8 months.
	The average period between the original and rescheduled date of a deferred oral hearing before the Parole Board as at 31 July 2009 was 3.5 months.

Parole Board

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many oral hearings before the Parole Board were deferred in each of the last five years; and how many of those hearings were deferred more than once.

Bridget Prentice: The number of oral hearings before the Parole Board that has been deferred in each of the last five years is set out in the following table . The Parole Board does not have figures for the number of cases deferred more than once.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 358 
			 2005-06 814 
			 2006-07 1,243 
			 2007-08 1,236 
			 2008-09 1,086

Parole Board: Labour Turnover

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) caseworkers,  (b) administrative staff at administrative officer or executive officer level and  (c) staff at higher executive officer level or above were recruited to work at the Parole Board in each of the last five years; and how many of those positions were advertised (i) internally only and (ii) internally and externally.

Bridget Prentice: Figures where Parole Board posts were advertised are available only for the last three years. The following table sets out the information available:
	
		
			  Grade  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Administrative assistant 0 0 2 external only 
			 Administrative officer 3 internal and external 5 internal and external 4 internal and external 
			 Executive officer 2 internal and external. 1 external only 1 internal only. 3 internal and external. 1 external only 18 internal and external 
			 Higher executive officer and above 2 external only 3 external only 4 internal and external. 4 external only

Parole Board: Labour Turnover

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) caseworkers,  (b) administrative staff at administrative officer or executive officer level and  (c) staff at higher executive officer level or above have left the employment of the Parole Board in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of staff, by grade, that have left the Parole Board, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Administrative assistant (AA) 2 1 0 0 0 
			 Administrative officer (AO) 2 8 7 5 8 
			 Executive officer (EO) 0 1 3 2 9 
			 Higher executive officer (HEO) 1 1 1 1 2 
			 Senior executive officer (SEO) 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Secretary/personal secretary 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Typist 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Grade 7 0 0 0 0 0

Parole Board: Manpower

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many caseworkers the Parole Board employed to work on  (a) oral hearings,  (b) paper hearings,  (c) post-panel reviews and  (d) other matters in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of staff employed in each department of the Parole Board, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Oral Hearings Team 20 26 29 29 32 
			 Paper Hearings Team 14 12 12 11 9 
			 Post Panel Team 7 7 7 9 10 
			 Re4Re Team (formerly RARE Team) 0 3 5 10 8 
			 Listings and Rota/Reprographic/Post 0 4 3 4 7 
			 Finance Department 3 4 4 4 4 
			 IT Department 3 2 3 3 2 
			 Human Resources Department 3 2 3 2 3 
			 Corporate Services 1 3 2 5 4 
			 Other Secretaries/Typists 5 5 4 1 2 
			 Senior Members of Staff 4 5 6 7 8

Parole Board: Official Hospitality

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Parole Board has spent on hospitality in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The Parole Board has spent the following sums on hospitality:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 265 
			 2005-06 140 
			 2006-07 238 
			 2007-08 529 
			 2008-09 201

Parole Board: Sick Leave

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days of sick leave were taken by Parole Board staff  (a) as a result of stress-related conditions and  (b) for other reasons in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The number of days sick leave taken by the Parole Board staff in the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Total number of days lost through sickness (annual figure average per member of staff)  Number of sick days recorded as stress/stress related (average per member of staff)  Number of sick days recorded as other reasons (average per member of staff)  Total number of staff 
			 2004-05 8.8 1.6 7.2 60 
			 2005-06 10.0 1.0 9.0 73 
			 2006-07 11.8 4.5 7.3 78 
			 2007-08 11.7 0.2 11.5 85 
			 2008-09 11.4 1.8 9.6 89

Prisoners: European Convention on Human Rights

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what payments were made to prisoners as a result of cases brought under legislation implementing the European Convention on Human Rights in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost and would involve the individual examination of several thousand files. The National Offender Management Service records litigation claims by the main type of allegation. Claims often make reference to alleged breaches of human rights. In some cases the claim will be brought wholly on an HRA basis. In others an HRA basis of claim will be but one of a number of alleged grounds of claim.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer Question 288113, on unpaid penalty notices for disorder, tabled on 15 July 2009.

Bridget Prentice: I replied on 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 168W.

Youth Custody: Per Capita Costs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the total monthly cost of a custodial place at  (a) young offender institutions,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) secure children's homes.

Maria Eagle: The Youth Justice Board calculates annual figures for the cost of places in the three types of establishment in the under-18 secure estate. As at 1 April 2009, these were as follows:
	
		
			   Average annual cost per place (£000) 
			 Secure children's home 215 
			 Secure training centre 160 
			 Young offender institution 60 
			  Note: VAT is not included within these figures.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Social Security Benefits

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will establish the number of spouses of armed forces personnel refused state benefits because of inadequate payment of national insurance contributions.

Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected in the form requested and we have no plans to do so.
	The Service Command Paper 'The Nation's Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans' (Cm 7424), published in July 2008, contained the Department's commitment to award Class 1 national insurance credits to spouses and civil partners of service personnel posted overseas with effect from April 2010. This will enable more members of service personnel families to qualify for jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance.

Iraq and Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the  (a) planned and  (b) actual average flying hours of each aircraft type operating in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan was in each year since 2003;
	(2)  what the  (a) planned and  (b) actual average flying hours of each helicopter type operating in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan was in each year since 2003.

Bill Rammell: I am withholding the information requested for Afghanistan as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces. I can say, however, that between November 2006 and April 2009 we increased the number of helicopter flying hours in Afghanistan by 84 per cent.
	For Op TELIC aircraft supporting operations in Iraq, information on the number of planned operational flying hours is not held by the Department for any fleet. For actual flying hours on operations, this information is not recorded centrally. I am able to provide information for some aircraft types and this is provided in the following tables . For all other fixed wing aircraft and helicopter fleets that have been deployed on Op TELIC the information is either no longer held by the department or could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All statistics have been rounded to the nearest five hours.
	For Nimrod MR2, Hercules and Tornado GR4 the total number of actual flying hours flown on Op TELIC is given by financial year.
	
		
			  Nimrod MR2  Total actual flying hours by financial year 
			 2003-04 1,040 
			 2004-05 2,350 
			 2005-06 1,975 
			 2006-07 1,385 
			 2007-08 725 
			 2008-09 225 
		
	
	
		
			  Hercules (all variants)  Total actual flying hours by financial year 
			 2003-04 (1)- 
			 2004-05 (1)- 
			 2005-06 (1)- 
			 2006-07 (1)- 
			 2007-08 5,855 
			 2008-09 5,960 
		
	
	
		
			  Tornado GR4  Total actual flying hours by financial year 
			 2003-04 6,775 
			 2004-05 6,585 
			 2005-06 6,825 
			 2006-07 8,150 
			 2007-08 9,175 
			 2008-09 7,425 
		
	
	For VCIO and Tristar the total number of actual flying hours flown on Op Telic is given by calendar year. VCIO was withdrawn from theatre in July 2009.
	
		
			  VCIO  Total actual flying hours by calendar year 
			 2003 2,600 
			 2004 2,695 
			 2005 2,525 
			 2006 3,245 
			 2007 2,995 
			 2008 3,150 
			 January-July 2009 1,150 
		
	
	
		
			  Tristar  Total actual flying hours by calendar year 
			 2003 1,885 
			 2004 20 
			 2005 Nil 
			 2006 5 
			 2007 Nil 
			 2008 Nil 
			 2009 Nil 
		
	
	Over the period 2003-09 Nimrod Rl have flown a total of 1,770 hours and Sentry has flown 1,415 hours in support of Op Telic. It is not possible to break down these totals by year flown, without incurring disproportionate cost.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pilots qualified to fly Puma helicopters have re-qualified to fly  (a) Merlin and  (b) Chinook helicopters in 2009 to date.

Bill Rammell: In 2009 to date, three qualified Puma pilots re-qualified to fly Chinook helicopters. In the same period, no qualified Puma pilots have re-qualified to fly Merlin helicopters.

Territorial Army: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps have been taken to enable members of the Territorial Army to complete minimum training standards in order to qualify for bounty in 2009-10;
	(2)  whether members of the Territorial Army (TA) who do not meet the minimum requirements to qualify for bounty as a result of the proposed reduction in TA training will be awarded it.

Bill Rammell: All TA personnel will be given opportunities to complete the necessary activities to enable them to qualify for an annual bounty, if they have not already done so. One further set of military training tests will be run in each region of the country. In addition, extensions of the training year up to the 30 June 2010 may be permitted by the chain of command to provide those who have not yet completed the minimum number of training days the opportunity to do so.
	There will be no waivers for those who fail to meet the minimum qualifying standards.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Bassetlaw constituency have child maintenance arrears of six months or more outstanding from  (a) the Child Support Agency and  (b) the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.

Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many residents of Bassetlaw constituency have child maintenance arrears of six months or more outstanding from (a) the Child Support Agency and (b) the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took responsibility for the Child Support Agency from the Department for Work and Pension on 1 November 2008. The Child Support Agency continues to operate the current maintenance schemes until the Commission introduces the future maintenance scheme set out in the Child Maintenance and other Payments Act 2008. The future scheme is currently planned to be introduced in 2011.
	Information relating to child maintenance payments by parliamentary constituency is regularly published in the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, the latest version of which is available online at the following link:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/publications/stats0609.html
	Information on the number of parents who have child maintenance arrears outstanding is only available for cases on the current child maintenance scheme, introduced in 2003. The Commission estimates that at the end of June 2009 there were a total of 1,020 non-resident parents in Bassetlaw parliamentary constituency with six months or more child maintenance arrears outstanding.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many widows unsuccessfully applied to the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission for fresh assessments of maintenance following the death of their husband.

Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many widows unsuccessfully applied to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission for fresh assessments of maintenance following the death of their husband.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission does not collate information on the marital status of its clients and is therefore not able to provide an answer to your question. It may be helpful if I explain that for the current statutory scheme the assessment of child maintenance due is based solely on the non-resident parent's income for each of the children that he or she is responsible for.
	The circumstances of the parent with care are not taken into account when assessing the amount of maintenance due, therefore any changes in the parent with care's circumstances, including bereavement will not require a change in the maintenance assessment.
	I should probably also make clear that in any case where the non-resident parent dies, the Commission will close the case. The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 included provision to allow the Commission to recover arrears of maintenance accrued from the non-resident parent's estate, however this provision has yet to be commenced. It is currently intended to bring forward regulations on recovery from deceased estates in 2010.
	I hope that you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Internet

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2009,  Official Report, column 59W, on departmental internet, what the  (a) names and  (b) versions are of the web browsers used on the (i) desktop machines and (ii) laptop computers used by her Department's (A) Permanent Secretary, (B) chief information officer, (C) head of communications and (D) head of finance.

Jim Knight: The Department uses Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (6.0.2900.2180xpsp_sp2_gdr.080814-1233) on all of its desktop and laptop computers including those of the Permanent Secretary, Chief Information Officer, Head of Communications and Head of Finance.

Electronic Government

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individual visitors accessed the Directgov service via  (a) Sky,  (b) Virgin Media,  (c) NTL,  (d) Telewest,  (e) Freeview and  (f) mobile telephones in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: Directgov does not report against unique visitor numbers but instead uses visits. This is a more accurate metric to use over a period of time. Unique visitors are identified by cookies placed on a user's PC when they first arrive at the site and there is strong evidence to suggest that a large number of people periodically delete cookies. This will mean that they are identified as a separate unique user when they next return.
	The following table represent the number of individual visitors to the Directgov service by each of the methods requested. Analogue TV figures have also been included, but please note that visitor figures for both Analogue TV and Freeview are approximate because these services are broadcasted rather than being accessed.
	
		
			   Visits 
			  Sky  
			 October 2006 to September 2007 55,503 
			 October 2007 to September 2008 50,252 
			 October 2008 to September 2009 107,105 
			   
			  VirginMedia( 1)  
			 October 2006 to September 2007 281,779 
			 October 2007 to September 2008 388,173 
			 October 2008 to September 2009 403,087 
			   
			  Freeview( 2)  
			 March 2009 to May 2009 440,000 
			   
			  Analogue TV( 3)  
			 March 2009 to May 2009 460,000 
			   
			  Mobile  
			 October 2008 to September 2009 1,554,616 
			 (1) Telewest and ntl merged to form Virgin Media in 2006. (2) Launched 22 January 2009. (3) Launched 16 January 2009.

Electronic Government

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the set up cost of making Directgov available via  (a) Sky,  (b) Virgin Media,  (c) NTL,  (d) Telewest,  (e) Freeview and  (f) mobile telephones was; and what the running costs of provision of the service via each platform has been in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The set-up and running costs for each individual platform are commercially sensitive, however, the annual running costs for these platforms are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 TV total 437,288 705,542 772,908 641,313 863,016 
			 Mobile total - - 73,775 175,704 497,371 
			 Combined total 437,288 705,542 846,683 817,017 1,360,387

Jobcentre Plus

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost of employing a member of staff of each job title at Jobcentre Plus was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: holding answer 16 September 2009
	 The information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints her Department has received from Jobcentre Plus staff on  (a) working conditions and  (b) other matters in each month in the last two years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 16 September 2009
	 The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Ruth Owen:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many complaints her Department has received from Jobcentre Plus staff about (a) their working conditions and (b) other matters in each month in the last two years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mel Groves as acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. As Mel Groves is currently on annual leave, I am replying in his absence.
	The table summarises the available information which concerns correspondence from existing or former members of staff where enquiries are addressed to or delegated to either the Permanent Secretary, the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre Plus Board members.
	
		
			   Total  Working conditions  Other 
			  2007
			 September 16 13 3 
			 October 22 17 5 
			 November 14 11 3 
			 December 10 9 1 
			 
			  2008
			 January 20 15 5 
			 February 24 20 4 
			 March 16 16 0 
			 April 15 12 3 
			 May 15 13 2 
			 June 14 13 1 
			 July 19 17 2 
			 August 18 9 9 
			 September 21 19 2 
			 October 17 16 1 
			 November 13 10 3 
			 December 16 15 1 
			 
			  2009
			 January 11 7 4 
			 February 10 5 5 
			 March 1 1 0 
			 April 11 8 3 
			 May 12 9 3 
			 June 11 8 3 
			 July 4 3 1 
			 August 10 10 0 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus clerical records of complaints either addressed or delegated to the Permanent Secretary, the Chief Executive or other Jobcentre Plus Board members. As this is clerical information full details may not be available.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disability employment advisers in Jobcentre Plus are in  (a) post and  (b) training; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of disability employment advisers required by Jobcentre Plus to administer the operation of Pathways to Work and the migration of existing incapacity benefit claimants to employment and support allowance in the next four years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 9 September 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the acting chief executive, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question asking how many Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentre Plus are in (a) post and (b) training; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of disability employment advisers required by Jobcentre Plus to administer the operation of Pathways to Work and the migration of existing incapacity benefit claimants to Employment and Support Allowance in the next four years. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There are around 450 full time equivalent Disability Employment Advisers in post. There are currently 30 Jobcentre Plus staff booked to start training as Disability Employment Advisers and a further 107 Jobcentre Plus staff identified as requiring this training in future events
	Disability Employment Advisers are not responsible for the administration of Pathways to Work or the migration of Incapacity Benefit recipients to Employment and Support Allowance.
	People moving into the Pathways to Work regime are seen by either a specialist Jobcentre Plus Pathways adviser or by an external Pathways provider. Mainstream programmes and support will be suitable for many people but they can be referred to a Disability Employment Adviser if the adviser feels that an individual would benefit from more specialist support. Although the migration to Employment and Support Allowance may increase the number of people being referred to the Disability Employment Advisers, it is expected to be manageable.
	Jobcentre Plus has the equivalent of around 960 full time specialist Pathways advisers who support the operation of Pathways to Work. We do not record the number of advisers employed by external providers of Pathways. It is the responsibility of the external providers to ensure that their staff have the necessary skills to help the range of customers they deal with.
	Plans for the migration of existing Incapacity Benefit claimants to Employment and Support Allowance are still being developed and it is too early at this point to provide robust figures for any changes to staffing and the skills required. Although Disability Employment Advisers are not directly involved in the migration, consideration will be given during the development of the processes and plans on any impact to the numbers required.

LinkAge Plus: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans she has to publish a report on the effectiveness and value for money of the Village Agents Scheme in Gloucestershire; and what assessment she has made of opportunities for wider application provided by the Scheme.

Angela Eagle: The Village Agents Scheme was part of the LinkAge Plus programme financed by DWP, which aimed to improve the well-being of older people, particularly by joining up services and including older people in service design.
	There is already a national evaluation of the LinkAge Plus programme and a local evaluation of the Village Agents pilot. The national evaluation shows that there are significant benefits to be gained overall, for both older people and the taxpayer, from a holistic approach to local service delivery. The local evaluation concluded that the work of Village Agents, putting older people in touch with different statutory and voluntary agencies, resulted in people receiving more services. As older people have good experiences of receiving services, they are less reluctant to ask for support. This, in turn increased their awareness of preventative measures in relation to their continuing independence.
	The principles of LinkAge Plus have been endorsed in the Government's ageing strategy "Building a society for all ages". The experiences and good practices from the Village Agents Scheme are included in a comprehensive LinkAge Plus DVD, which I launched on 20 October 2009. This brings together information, resources, tools, good practice and real life case studies. I will be writing to all local authority chief executives enclosing a copy of the DVD and encouraging its use to support engagement with older people, to build partnerships and to join up local services.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she expects to reply to the letter dated 19 August 2009 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North on her Department's Green Paper on disability benefits; for what reason no acknowledgement has been sent; and what the reasons are for the time taken to provide a substantive response.

Jonathan R Shaw: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 12 October 2009. The Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely acknowledge receipt of hon. Members' letters but aims to make a substantive reply within 20 working days. I am unable to give a particular reason for the delay, but I apologise to my hon. Friend for the unacceptable delay that occurred.

State Retirement Pensions: Males

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of men who will qualify for a full state pension as a result of the reduction in qualifying years for national insurance contributions from 44 to 39.

Angela Eagle: The number of qualifying years required for entitlement to a full basic state pension for men reaching state pension age from 6 April 2010 will be reduced from 44 years (39 for women) to 30. As a result of this and other changes in the 2007 Pension Act, we estimate that an extra 20,000 men and 40,000 women reaching state pension age in 2010-11 will be entitled to a full basic state pension.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Overseas Territories: Renewable Energy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legally binding targets have been set regarding renewable energy generation in UK Overseas Territories.

Chris Bryant: The UK has not set any legally binding targets for the Overseas Territories regarding renewable energy generation.

Egypt: Borders

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received since July 2009 on the number of tunnels between Egypt and Gaza; what further steps he is taking to assist the government of Egypt to prevent the flow of weapons through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There have been a series of meetings of key partners in Copenhagen (February 2009), London (March 2009) and Ottawa (June 2009) to discuss potential counter-smuggling efforts. But given the Egyptian sensitivities to have been seen accepting assistance and the challenges of "upstream" interdiction, these have remained largely discussions and no further discussions are planned.

Gilad Shalit

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had since July 2009 with the International Red Cross on  (a) the imprisonment of Gilad Shalit by Hamas and  (b) the refusal of Hamas to allow Gilad Shalit visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We maintain regular dialogue with the International Committee of the Red Cross, including on the captivity of Gilad Shalit. While we welcome the videotape released by Hamas on 2 October 2009 as part of a prisoner swap deal, the continued captivity of Gilad Shalit is utterly unacceptable.
	The UK shares the Shalit family's dismay at Hamas's refusal to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to Gilad Shalit. I met Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, in Tel Aviv in August 2009 to demonstrate our ongoing support.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the government of Israel on the findings of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 14 October 2009
	 My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu on 18 September 2009 and again on 14 October 2009. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Defence Minister Barak on 29 September 2009 and 13 October 2009.
	We have made clear that, while the Goldstone report has its flaws, there are serious allegations against both Hamas and Israel. Israel has undertaken a number of investigations. But we do not believe these have yet adequately addressed the concerns. We urge Israel to investigate allegations fully and credibly to ensure that there is full accountability for any breaches of the rule of law.

USA: United Nations Fact Finding Mission

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US administration on the findings of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.

Ivan Lewis: We have regular discussions with our US counterparts on issues related to the Middle East Peace Process. This includes the findings of the UN-mandated Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the mission's findings with US Secretary of State Clinton on 11 October 2009.

PRIME MINISTER

Members: Surveillance

Nick Hurd: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1166W, on Members: surveillance, whether the Wilson doctrine prohibits surveillance of hon. Members by  (a) the police and  (b) local authorities under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 21 July 2009.

TREASURY

Banks: Government Assistance

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much financial assistance was provided by the Government to the banking sector in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009 to date.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 1924W.

Business Interests

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether members of the board of  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs are vetted for connections to (i) companies involved in tax avoidance and (ii) vulture fund companies.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government cannot comment on individual taxpayers' affairs but do everything they reasonably can to ensure that any arrangement they enter into is fully tax compliant.
	The Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have conflicts of interest policies in place which are guided by the Nolan principles of public life. Board members are required to declare any private interests (or interests of then close families) relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.
	Executive members are bound by the civil service code and independent members are recruited through fair and open competition, consistent with the code set down by Civil Service Commissioners.

Child Tax Credit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the investigation of  (a) eligibility of claimants and  (b) fraudulent claims for child tax credit in each year child tax credit has existed.

Stephen Timms: The precise information requested is not available.
	The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff deployed on both tax credit and child benefit compliance activity is in the following table.
	
		
			  Date at April  Number of staff (FTE) 
			 2009 1,475 
			 2008 1,365 
			 2007 1,405 
			 2006 1,190 
			 2005 (1)1,200 
			 2004 (1)1,200 
			 (1) Approximately. Precise information is not available for 2004 and 2005. 
		
	
	Information on tax credit error and fraud can be found at pages 89 and 99 of the annual departmental trust statements published at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-dep-acct0708.pdf

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 418-9W, on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, what forecast he has made of the price of carbon in the  (a) second and  (b) third phases of the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The prevailing market price of carbon is used to forecast auctioning revenues from Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	Longer term forecasts for Phase III are based on the Department for Energy and Climate Change estimates of the traded price of carbon in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme up to 2050, which are set out in "Carbon Valuation in UK Policy Appraisal: A Revised Approach".

Excise Duties: Fuels

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the average cost of a litre of petrol for the month of October has been since 2000; and what percentage of such costs was accounted for by road fuel duty in each such month;
	(2)  what cost-benefit analysis his Department made of the effects of the change in road fuel duty in September 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: When making decisions on fuel duty, the Chancellor takes into account all relevant economic, social and environmental factors. The increase in road fuel duty on 1 September this year will help to support the public finances in the medium term.
	The following table sets out the average cost of a litre of petrol for the month of October since 2000, and the percentage of this cost that was accounted for by fuel duty.
	
		
			   Pump price (pence per litre)  Fuel duty rate  Percentage fuel duty 
			 2000 79.46 47.82 60 
			 2001 75.11 45.82 61 
			 2002 74.44 45.82 62 
			 2003 75.84 47.10 62 
			 2004 83.13 47.10 57 
			 2005 94.00 47.10 50 
			 2006 85.74 47.10 55 
			 2007 97.03 50.35 52 
			 2008 106.03 50.35 47 
		
	
	In addition to supporting fiscal consolidation, all fuel duty increases announced at Budget 2009 are estimated to result in a reduction of 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, per year, by 2013-14.

Income Tax

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax was due to the Exchequer in respect of how many people on 31 March 2009.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available except at disproportionate cost. However, for the total debt outstanding I refer the hon. Member to page 96 of HM Revenue and Customs' Annual Trust Statement available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accs-0809.pdf

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department records the charitable status of those bodies that it supports through grant in aid, ongoing grants and strategic commissioning.
	Payments to these bodies are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Charity name  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07 
			  NDPBs with exempt charity status
			 British Library 107,086 106,608 114,281 
			 British Museum 51,103 45,055 46,605 
			 Imperial War Museum 24,022 22,304 21,034 
			 Museum of London 0 8,826 8,593 
			 National Gallery 26,527 25,798 26,336 
			 National Maritime Museum 19,730 18,636 18,354 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry 39,311 41,484 42,417 
			 National Museums Liverpool 22,619 22,508 23,172 
			 National Portrait Gallery 7,853 7,193 6,771 
			 Natural History Museum 53,047 45,425 47,785 
			 Tate Gallery 61,544 46,097 35,661 
			 The Royal Armouries 8,264 8,917 8,273 
			 Victoria and Albert Museum 45,020 45,954 43,637 
			 Wallace Collection 4,388 4,384 3,324 
			 
			  Registered charities
			 Arts Council of England 436,831 425,992 476,552 
			 Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust 300 455 450 
			 Churches Conservation Trust 3,162 3,062 2,462 
			 Design Museum 414 503 530 
			 Geffrye Museum 1,748 2,215 1,571 
			 Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College 2,200 1,500 1,500 
			 Horniman Museum 4,757 4,358 4,467 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 4,788 4,451 4,886 
			 Museums, Libraries and Archives Council 65,321 64,271 52,318 
			 National Film and Television School 2,978 3,013 3,415 
			 National Football Museum 103 144 104 
			 Sir John Soane's Museum 1,339 1,389 1,264 
			  Notes: 1. The Department changed its accounting system at the end of 2005-06. Comparative information for 2005-06 and earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 2. The Department does not routinely record the status of all recipients from other grant schemes for which eligibility is the custody of historic buildings or museum, library or archive collections, and a fuller list could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 3. Some figures are higher than those in the annual report and accounts as they include elements of Strategic Commissioning funding.

Cricket: Sport England

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the  (a) accuracy and  (b) completeness of the most recent sports survey undertaken by Sport England in relation to cricket.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has not carried out any formal assessment.
	The primary survey of adult cricket participation, commissioned by Sport England is the Active People survey. This survey was originally conducted in 2005-06, repeated in 2007-08 and runs continuously with results published quarterly. Active People, which measures adult participation in a range of sports and physical activity, is used to measure progress against a number of public outcomes including National Indicator 8 and Sport England's target to get one million adults more involved in sport by 2012.
	The survey has a substantial annual sample size of 191,000, conducted every day (except for Christmas day). The sample takes into account seasonality, and utilises both random-digit-dialling and local stratification to ensure that the sample is representative. Active People has been adopted as a measurement tool by a variety of public bodies including the Department of Health, Local Government, the Arts Council as well as the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. In being adopted for use within comprehensive area agreements, and subsequently local area agreements, the Active People survey has been recognised by the Audit Commission.
	From 1 April 2009, the Statistics and Registration Act 2007 was extended to cover Sport England and the statistics it produces. As a result, Sport England is required to comply with the code of practice for producing and publishing official statistics. The principles within the code require 'sound methods and assured quality' (principle 4). Sport England published its policy for official statistics confirming its compliance with the code.
	With regard to completeness, the Active People survey measures participation in sport (including cricket) and physical activity in accordance with the definitions applied to national targets. The targets measured by the survey cover participation of at least moderate intensity among those over the age of 16. On the basis of the chief medical officer's advice, a minimum threshold of 30 minutes participation in any one session is required to deliver health and other benefits.

Departmental Buildings

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is on the relocation of units of his Department to locations outside London.

Gerry Sutcliffe: To date the Department's non-departmental public bodies' (NDPB) have relocated 894 staff outside of London. We will continue to work with our NDPBs to identify other opportunities for relocations.
	The Department has no plans to relocate units of the Department outside London.

Departmental Procurement

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of procurement contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The proportion of the Department for Culture Media and Sport procurement contracts awarded to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) businesses were as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2006-07 48.6 
			 2007-08 41.7 
			 2008-09 42.4 
		
	
	Information for 2009-10 is not yet available.
	The Royal Parks (TRP) does not routinely record the number of contracts that it awards to SMEs. The most recent information available relates to 2005: 77 per cent. of contracts (16 per cent. by value) were awarded to SMEs.

Departmental Rail Travel

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on first class rail travel for officials in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under travel and subsistence and is consistent with the civil service management code.
	The expenditure on first class rail travel by officials ordered via the Department's contracted travel agent in each of the last financial years is set out in the table. These amounts exclude any travel booked directly, which can be identified only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2008-09 46,033.75 
			 2007-08 35,626.10 
			 2006-07 70,496.60

Departmental Travel

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on  (a) car hire,  (b) train travel,  (c) air travel,  (d) hotels and  (e) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively and spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
	The Department's accounting system does not record information by the specific categories requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The available information is set out as follows:
	 Ministerial cars
	The Department for Transport publish an annual written ministerial statement on the cost of ministerial cars. The latest one for 2008-09 was published on 16 July and can be viewed at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090716/wmstext/90716m0009.htm# 09071651000059
	Similar information regarding ministerial cars relating to prior years can be viewed at:
	 2007-08
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080722/wmstext/80722m0008.htm
	 2003-04 to 2006-07
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080630/text/80630w0008.htm
	Other car hire costs relating to Ministers are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 10,823.38 
			 2007-08 17,054.99 
			 2006-07 16,094.75 
			 2005-06 13,947.79 
			 2004-05 6,690.89 
		
	
	Ministers' UK travel and subsistence costs are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 15,071.77 
			 2007-08 17,090.58 
			 2006-07 16,499.50 
			 2005-06 22,571.40 
			 2004-05 13,102.46 
		
	
	 Ministers' visits overseas
	Since 1999 the Cabinet Office has published, on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500, as well as total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July and can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx
	Civil servants' travel and subsistence costs are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   UK  Overseas 
			 2008-09 146,108.08 234,101.26 
			 2007-08 163,735.50 250,554.75 
			 2006-07 193,620.21 297,832.07 
			 2005-06 293,203.28 287,546.56 
			 2004-05 166,500.58 279,710.59 
		
	
	Copies of written ministerial statements are deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

Digital Broadcasting

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what dates he met the Channel 4 board to discuss the draft updated statutory remit as set out in the Digital Britain report.

Si�n Simon: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, had no such meetings with the Channel 4 board. The Government have taken the views of the board on an updated Channel 4 remit, in accordance with our undertaking in the Digital Britain White Paper, via correspondence with the C4 chairman and correspondence and meetings between DCMS and Channel 4 officials.

Digital Broadcasting: Licensing

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the Digital Britain report, on what date his Department published a community radio consultation seeking views on changes to the licensing regime.

Si�n Simon: The Consultation on Amendments to the Community Radio Licensing Regime was published on 16 June 2009.

Horserace Totalisator Board

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with European Commission officials on transferring the Tote to the horse racing industry;
	(2)  when he expects the European Commission to rule on the sale of the Tote;
	(3)  when he last met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the sale of the Tote;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the long-term effect on the monetary value to the Tote of changes in levels of online gambling;
	(5)  when the Tote's market value was last independently estimated;
	(6)  with reference to the written ministerial statement of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 114WS, on the sale of the Tote, whether he plans to make available to the horse racing industry half the net proceeds of an open market sale of the Tote;
	(7)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 22 October 2008,  Official Report, column 12WS, what recent assessment he has made of market conditions for selling the Tote.

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what timetable he has set for the sale of the Tote; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which organisations he expects to receive funding allocations from the 50 per cent. of proceeds from the sale of the Tote to be returned to horse racing; whether such allocations will be net of pension and other liabilities; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether he plans to grant a pool monopoly to a purchaser when selling the Tote; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the revenue likely to be received from the sale of the Tote; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what expressions of interest he expects to receive from potential purchasers of the Tote; whether he plans to consider bids from horse racing organisations; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  if he will take steps to guarantee the revenue income stream to the horse racing industry from the Tote following its sale; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The arrangements for the sale of the Tote are yet to be determined and discussions are continuing with all the relevant parties. The present intention is that the sale process itself will not start until summer 2010 with a latest completion date of March 2011. We expect to be able to give further details on the process in the next few months.
	The Government's position remains that we will honour our commitment to return half of the net proceeds of any market sale to racing subject to the requirements of European state aid and competition rules. I am unable to disclose commercially confidential or sensitive information about the valuation of the tote or prospective Government payments to agents.

Sport England: Internet

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the start-up cost of Sport England's Active Places website was; and what its running costs were in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England have advised that in its first financial year of operation, 2004-05, the Active Places website cost a total of £1.98 million. This figure includes start-up costs and running costs for that year.
	Running costs for 2008-09 were £0.894 million.

Sports: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of people aged  (a) 11 to 15,  (b) 16,  (c) 17 to 18 and  (d) over 18 years old were recorded as having participated in at least one active sport in the last four weeks in surveys in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 September 2009
	The following figures are the percentages of young people participating in at least one active sport in the last four weeks, broken down by age category. Data are derived from the results of the Taking Part Survey, which has been run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since 2005.
	The survey is divided into an adult and a child questionnaire, with the former covering respondents aged 16 and over.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2006  2007  2008  2005-06  2006-0 7  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Child survey
			  (a) 11 to 15 years old 95 94.9 96.3 - - - - 
			 
			  Adult survey
			  (b) 16 years old - - - 82.5 82.2 86.6 77.5 
			  (c) 17 to 18 years old - - - 80 77.9 78.8 75.1 
			  (d) 18+ years old - - - 52.3 52.1 52.1 52.2 
		
	
	To address this, through the Sport Unlimited initiative, Sport England works closely with the Government to deliver the five hour Young People's Sports Offer. Over three years, the programme will enable 900,000 children and young people to take part in 10-week taster sessions in sports and aims to get 300,000 participants to join clubs and continue with sport beyond those sessions. Additionally, one of Sport England's strategic targets is to reduce the drop off among 16 to 18-year-olds in nine key sports. This target will be measured by the Active People survey and is based on reducing the gap between 16 and 18-year-old participation by 25 per cent. The national target is therefore to increase overall participation in the nine drop off sports among 18-year-olds to 31 per cent.
	The latest 12 month rolling participation figure illustrates that there has been a statistically significant increase in overall participation in the nine drop off sports among 18-year-olds from 189,100 to 202,500. If this level of overall participation in the nine drop off sports were maintained until the end of the current strategy period then the participation figures are expected to reach the target of 31 per cent.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Members: Correspondence

John Stanley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she plans to reply to the letters of 23 February 2009 and 23 May 2009 from the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling on behalf of Mr. Colin Packman.

Michael Jabez Foster: I have now written to the right hon. Gentleman.
	It is regrettable that there is no record of the original letters of 23 February and 23 May being received by the Department. I apologise, however, that the reply intended to be sent by the end of July was not sent until 4 September.

CABINET OFFICE

Death: Pregnancy

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many women aged  (a) 12 to 16,  (b) 17 to 21,  (c) 22 to 24,  (d) 25 to 30,  (e) 31 to 35,  (f) 36 to 40 and  (g) 41 years and older have died from pregnancy-related diseases in each year since 1979, broken down by cause of death.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply
	This information is not collected centrally. However, the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health publishes a report once every three years, formerly entitled Why Mothers Die, but now entitled Saving Mothers' Lives. The most recent, published in December 2007, covered the years 2002-05. This publication gives numbers of deaths in the United Kingdom reported to the enquiry in the three-year periods considered and divides them into deaths directly and indirectly due to pregnancy and childbirth, (it also includes coincidental deaths and late deaths, which are not included in the table). Table 1.3 on page 8 of the latest report gives numbers and rates per 100,000 maternities of maternal deaths reported to the enquiry by cause in the United Kingdom form 1985-2005. However, this table does not capture the mothers age. A copy of the latest report has already been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Total number of direct and indirect deaths by age of the women who died; United Kingdom: 1985  to  2005 
			   Under 20  20-24  25-29  30-34  35-39  40 and over 
			 1985-87 15 47 53 60 35 13 
			 1988-90 17 38 74 57 31 18 
			 1991-93 7 30 87 61 36 7 
			 1994-96 15 40 71 70 53 11 
			 1997-99 19 34 60 66 50 13 
			 2000-02 16 30 70 79 47 19 
			 2003-05 15 39 66 91 64 20 
			  Notes: 1. Direct deaths result from obstetric complications of the pregnant state, from interventions, omission, incorrect treatment or from a chain of events resulting from any of these. 2. Indirect deaths result from previous existing disease, or disease that developed during pregnancy and which was not due to direct obstetric causes, but which was aggravated by the physiological effects of pregnancy.

Departmental Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff there were in  (a) her Department and  (b) the Prime Minister's office (i) in 1997 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Cabinet Office staff numbers are published quarterly and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/Table6AllDepts.xls
	The most recent quarterly publication has been placed in the Library.
	For the number of staff in the Prime Minister's Office I refer my hon. Friend to the replies given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 18 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1254W, and my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 5 November 2001,  Official Report, column 8W.

Lobbying: Publications

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she plans to respond to the First Report of the Public Administration Select Committee of Session 2008-09 on Lobbying: access and influence in Whitehall.

Angela Smith: The Government intend to respond to the Committee's report very shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Norman Lamb: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 21 April 2009, if she will place in the Library a copy of the full email correspondence between Mr. Damian McBride, Mr. Charlie Whelan, Mr. Andrew Dogshon and Mr. Derek Draper referred to in this letter.

Tessa Jowell: The Cabinet Secretary's letter of 14 April to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) made clear that Damian McBride's actions constituted a clear and serious breach of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers which had not been tolerated. His actions were unacceptable and inappropriate. It would therefore not be appropriate to make the e-mails public.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what policy applies to the appointment of policy advisers who are not special advisers to assist Ministers on 12 month contracts; and what recent guidance the Cabinet Secretary has issued on the subject.

Angela Smith: Recruitment into the civil service is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Order-in-Council, and the Civil Service Commissioners' recruitment principles.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies: Official Gifts

John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance sets out the procedures to be followed by  (a) civil servants and  (b) senior officials of non-departmental public bodies in relation to their receipt of gifts.

Tessa Jowell: The principles governing the acceptance of gifts by civil servants are set out in the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code. The principles governing the handling of gifts received by officials of non-departmental public bodies are set out in the Cabinet Office model code for staff of Executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Individual Departments and NDPBs will normally have additional guidance based on these principles.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Speaker

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what procedures were used to recruit Mr. Speaker's special adviser; who  (a) carried out those procedures and  (b) set the salary for that post; and what the (i) salary and (ii) job specification is for that post.

Nick Harvey: Mr. Speaker's special adviser was engaged via a contract for Services-not an employment contract-under the House's normal procurement arrangements. He is to be paid an agreed rate per day worked. The amount is commercial in confidence.
	A copy of the special adviser's job description is being placed in the Library.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials will accompany the ministerial delegation to the UN framework convention on climate change conference in Copenhagen; and from which Departments those officials will be drawn.

Joan Ruddock: We have not yet determined who will attend from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, so we cannot say with certainty how many Ministers or officials will be on the delegation. This will depend largely on the state of international negotiations at the time of the conference.
	Last year for COP14 in Poznan the UK delegation comprised 47 people from DECC, DfID, FCO, DfT and BERR. Given the importance of the Copenhagen meeting, the UK delegation may well be significantly larger on this occasion.

Coal: Industrial Health and Safety

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Group 3 coal health compensation claims submitted by each solicitor's firm have been disputed.

David Kidney: The number of claims submitted by claimants' representatives for vibration white finger (VWF) that fall under the Group 3 category is shown in the following table as at 4 October 2009.
	We are unable to provide this information for claims submitted under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scheme as these are assessed by different criteria and are not categorised by groups.
	
		
			  Claimants' representatives  Location  Total claims 
			 Ashton Morton Slack LLP AMS UDM Claims Only 84 
			 Atha and Co. Solicitors Middlesbrough 1 
			 Atteys Doncaster 1 
			 Atteys Retford 1 
			 Atteys Rotherham 55 
			 Avalon Solicitors Warrington 1 
			 Bakewells Derby 1 
			 Banner Jones Chesterfield 1 
			 BBH Solicitors Cheshire 2 
			 BBH Solicitors Wirral 4 
			 Bell Dallman and Co. Doncaster 3 
			 Ben Hoare Bell and Co. Solicitors Sunderland (Southwick) 6 
			 Beresfords Solicitors Doncaster 12 
			 Beresfords Solicitors Doncaster (UDM Only) 135 
			 BHP LAW Belmont 8 
			 Branton Bridge Manchester 9 
			 BRM Solicitors Chesterfield 1 
			 BRM Solicitors Chesterfield-UDM claims only 2 
			 Browell Smith and Co. Newcastle-SPSSG 2 
			 Browell Smith and Co. Newcastle upon Tyne 550 
			 Campbell Smith W.S. Edinburgh-Scottish claims only 5 
			 Colemans Solicitors Manchester 7 
			 Corries Solicitors Glasgow-Scottish claims only 18 
			 Corries York York 14 
			 D. W. Shaw Solicitors Cumnock-Scottish claims only 1 
			 David W Harris and Co. Solicitors Pontyclun 1 
			 Davis Blank Furniss Manchester 1 
			 Digby Brown and Co. Solicitors Glasgow-Scottish claims only 1 
			 DMH Stallard Brighton 3 
			 Emsleys Solicitors Leeds 1 
			 Endlars Solicitors 86A Bury Old Road 1 
			 Parleys Solicitors Burnley 2 
			 Foys Solicitors Worksop 1 
			 Furley Page Canterbury 44 
			 Gabb and Co. Powys 18 
			 Gorman Hamilton Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 50 
			 Graysons Solicitors Chesterfield 1 
			 Graysons Solicitors Sheffield 317 
			 Hartley and Worstenholme Solicitors Pontefract 1 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors Rotherham 25 
			 Hollis and Co. Solicitors - 1 
			 Holmes and Hills Solicitors Great Dunmow 6 
			 Hopkins Eden Court, Mansfield 6 
			 Housemans Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 1 
			 Hugh James Cardiff 347 
			 Hugh James Respiratory Disease Department 1 
			 Hutchinson Morris and L. C. Thomas Neath 1 
			 Ibbotson Brady Solicitors Leeds 1 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors Sheffield 49 
			 J. Keith Park and Co. Solicitors The Litigation Group 1 
			 J. M. Skinner Solicitors Birkenhead 1 
			 Jackson Heath Solicitors Leeds 1 
			 Jordans Solicitors Wakefield 1 
			 Keeble Hawson Doncaster 14 
			 Keeble Hawson Moorhouse Sheffield 17 
			 Kenyon Son and Craddock 32 South Parade 1 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 117 
			 Kingslegal Cardiff 38 
			 L. A. Steel Barnsley 1 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors Leicester 74 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors Loughborough 1 
			 Leo Abse and Cohen Cardiff 1 
			 Lloyd Green Solicitors Glasgow-UDM Only 1 
			 Lopian Wagner Solicitors Manchester 5 
			 Macquillan and Co Gwent 1 
			 Maidments Solicitors Bolton 1 
			 Malcolm C. Foy and Co. Solicitors Doncaster 2 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse Newcastle upon Tyne 1 
			 Marrons Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 3 
			 McConville O'Neill Solicitors Glasgow-Scottish 1 
			 McLeish Carswell Glasgow 1 
			 McLeish Carswell Glasgow-Scottish claims only 13 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson Preston 15 
			 Mills Kemp and Brown Solicitors Barnsley 1 
			 Mincoffs Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 7 
			 MLM Solicitors Cardiff 2 
			 Morisons Solicitors Edinburgh 1 
			 Morisons Solicitors Edinburgh-Scottish claims only 27 
			 Mortons Solicitors Sunderland 61 
			 Moss Solicitors Loughborough 35 
			 Moss Solicitors Moss UDM claims only 106 
			 Moxon and Barker Solicitors Belks Court Pontefract 1 
			 Newman and Bond Solicitors Barnsley 1 
			 O. H. Parsons and Partners Solicitors London 69 
			 Oxley and Coward Solicitors Rotherham 10 
			 Pannone and Partners Solicitors Manchester 1 
			 Patchell Davies Solicitors Gwent 1 
			 Peace Revitt Solicitors Wombwell 10 
			 Raleys Solicitors - 1 
			 Raleys Solicitors Barnsley 251 
			 Randell Lloyd Jenkins and Martin Llanelli 66 
			 Richard J. Knaggs and Co. Redcar 4 
			 Robinson and Murphy Solicitors Newcastle 1 
			 Robinson King Solicitors-Ceased trading Stockport 2 
			 Saffmans Solicitors Leeds 13 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors Doncaster 52 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 15 
			 Sherwood-Smith, Tilley and Co. Houghton Le Spring 1 
			 Simpson Millar Solicitors Leeds 3 
			 Smith and Graham Solicitors Hartlepool 1 
			 T. S. Edwards and Son Solicitors Newport 3 
			 T. S. Edwards and Son Solicitors Ystrad Mynach 36 
			 The Paul Rooney Partnership Liverpool 1 
			 Thompson and Co. Solicitors Sunderland 57 
			 Thompsons - 1 
			 Thompsons Solicitors - 156 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Edinburgh-Scottish claims only 186 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Manchester 2 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Newcastle-Scottish claims 1 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 796 
			 Thompsons Solicitors South Shields 1 
			 Thornleys Huddersfield 10 
			 Tilly Bailey and Irvine Solicitors Hartlepool 2 
			 TLW Solicitors North Shields 2 
			 Towells Solicitors Wakefield 112 
			 Treanors Solicitors Sunderland 2 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers Mansfield 53 
			 Wake Smith and Tofields Solicitors Sheffield 2 
			 Watson Burton LLP Newcastle upon Tyne 207 
			 Watson Burton LLP Newcastle upon Tyne-Scottish only 1 
			 Total  4,490

Coal: Industrial Health and Safety

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many payments in respect of disputed claims made under the coal health compensation scheme have been made to each of the 50 solicitors' firms which have made the highest number of such claims.

David Kidney: The following table shows the number of payments made for claims with a Schedule 20 Dispute or a Formal Dispute under the terms of the Claims Handling Agreements that were submitted by the top 50 claimants' representatives (by claim volume) as at 4 October 2009.
	
		
			  Claimants' representatives  Location  COPD disputed claim  COPD disputed claims costs count 
			 Beresfords Solicitors Doncaster 15 11 
			 Hugh James Respiratory Disease Dept 282 248 
			 Raleys Solicitors Barnsley 242 221 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 94 73 
			 Browell Smith and Co Newcastle upon Tyne 53 40 
			 Avalon Solicitors Warrington 2 2 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse Newcastle upon Tyne 29 24 
			 Thompsons Solicitors Edinburgh-Scottish claims only 116 92 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers Mansfield 59 52 
			 Barber and Co Liverpool 11 8 
			 Watson Burton LLP Newcastle upon Tyne 30 28 
			 Graysons Solicitors Sheffield 354 253 
			 Randell Lloyd Jenkins and Martin Llanelli 110 88 
			 Delta Legal Manchester 17 16 
			 Ingrams Solicitors Hull-COPD only 16 14 
			 TLW Solicitors North Shields 26 18 
			 Birchall Blackburn Preston 2 1 
			 Corries Solicitors Glasgow-Scottish claims only - 0 
			 Beresfords Solicitors Doncaster (UDM only) - 0 
			 Towells Solicitors Wakefield 53 24 
			 Ashton Morton Slack LLP Sheffield 5 4 
			 Gorman Hamilton Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 2 2 
			 Corries York York 2 1 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 6 6 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors Sheffield 12 12 
			 Beresfords Solicitors Doncaster (Scottish claims) 1 1 
			 BRM Solicitors Chesterfield 11 8 
			 Avalon Solicitors Manchester (Scottish only) - 0 
			 Moss Solicitors Moss UDM claims only 5 4 
			 Ashton Morton Slack LLP AMS UDM claims only 7 7 
			 Hilary Meredith Solicitors Wilmslow 1 1 
			 Wake Smith and Tofields Solicitors Sheffield 3 3 
			 1 Legal Solicitors Swansea - 0 
			 Moss Solicitors Loughborough 2 2 
			 Atteys Rotherham 12 11 
			 O H Parsons and Partners Solicitors London 20 19 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse Newcastle upon Tyne (Scottish only) 3 3 
			 Ryan Carlisle Thomas Lawyers Victoria 1 1 
			 Recompense Limited Totnes - 0 
			 Simpson Millar Solicitors Leeds 2 1 
			 Onyems and Partners Essex 5 1 
			 Bailey Bravo Jobling London 1 1 
			 Shaw and Co Solicitors Doncaster 18 15 
			 Furley Page Canterbury 38 35 
			 Mortons Solicitors Sunderland 18 9 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson Preston 2 1 
			 Morisons Solicitors Edinburgh-Scottish claims only 2 2 
			 Marrons Solicitors Newcastle upon Tyne 4 3 
			 McConville O'Neill Solicitors Glasgow-Scottish - 0 
			 Latham and Co Solicitors Leicester 6 5 
			 
			 Total  1,700 1,371

Energy Supply: Meters

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) average and  (b) maximum premium paid by customers for using pre-payment meters for domestic (i) gas and (ii) electricity supply.

David Kidney: The most recent figures on tariffs are those for October 2009. The new rules outlawing undue price discrimination came into force in September.
	According to the latest available figures prices for an average consumer using 3,300 kWh of electricity per year, indicate an average annual differential of £10 (pre-payment compared with standard credit) and a maximum differential of £38, if prompt payment discounts on standard credit are included. If they are not, these figures are -£5 and £7 respectively.
	For an average consumer using 20,500 kWh of gas per year, October 2009 prices indicate an average annual differential of £22 and a maximum differential of £73 if prompt payment discounts are included. Without prompt payment discounts, these figures are -£5 and £58 respectively.
	The minus figures indicate that in some cases prices for pre-payment meters are lower than those for some standard credit customers.
	The average dual fuel pre-payment customer now pays £4 less than the average standard credit dual fuel customer. This compares to a figure of £41 more in July 2008.
	Ofgem produces estimates of domestic household energy bills, and these reflect current prices as at October 2009 prices. The maximum and average differentials given here mean the difference between standard credit and pre-payment tariffs available to consumers by a single supplier within one region. Figures for standard credit are complicated by the fact that some suppliers offer a discount to standard credit consumers who pay promptly, so we have noted these variants.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Charlie Whelan

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what matters were discussed at the meeting between the Secretary of State and Charlie Whelan on 29 January 2009.

Patrick McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State met Mr. Charlie Whelan on 15 January (not on 29 January) in the course of his official duties. They discussed employment issues.

Further Education: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to give further education colleges greater financial freedom to enable them to make flexible use of funding streams; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Following consultation in January 2007, the Learning and Skills Council introduced two main funding routes for adult training (Adult Learner Responsive and Employer Responsive). This rationalised the larger number of funding streams that were previously in place and provided colleges and providers with increased ability to move funds between programmes.
	We continue to listen to feedback from the sector as part of assessing the impact of introducing the new funding models in 2008/09 academic year. A key aspect of the funding system is ensuring that the full range of adult learners are able to access programmes that meet their needs especially where they are less able to articulate these needs.

Grocery Trade

Peter Luff: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria he plans to use in reaching a decision on whether or not to establish a grocery market ombudsman; and when he plans to make his decision on the recommendations of the Chairman of the Competition Commission for such an ombudsman.

Kevin Brennan: Government will weigh up a number of factors including possible costs or savings being passed on to consumers, the potential for a better deal for suppliers and regulatory burdens for supermarkets. We will take into account the careful analysis already carried out by the CC in its report and make a decision later this year.

Higher and Further Education: Buildings

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from whom a  (a) university and  (b) further education college is required to seek permission to sell any of its buildings to a private company for (i) educational use and (ii) non-educational use; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Higher education institutions in receipt of funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are not required to seek the permission of the council before the disposal of assets, including land or buildings regardless of their current or future use. In its financial memorandum with HEFCE each institution is required to operate an estates strategy which keeps under review their current and future assets requirement, and identifies opportunities for rationalisation where appropriate.
	The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 provides that further education colleges may acquire and dispose of land and other property but the Act does not require a corporation to seek permission before doing so. However, in its financial agreement with colleges, the Learning and Skills Council does require a college to obtain its consent for capital transactions, where the total cost or proceeds exceed £1.5 million or 5 per cent. of the college's annual revenue (whichever is the lesser). The use of a building after sale does not affect this requirement.

Internet: Disabled

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Digital Britain report, what reports his Department has received from the Consumer Expert Group on issues relating to people with disabilities' use of the internet.

Stephen Timms: I have received the Consumer Expert Group report into the use of the internet by disabled people: barriers and solutions. I am most grateful for this report, and the valuable contributions made to it not only by members of the Consumer Expert Group but also by a range of experts representing people with particular needs. The 16 recommendations are challenging and will be considered carefully by Government in conjunction with industry and the third sector. I have arranged for copies to be available in the Libraries of both Houses, and for the report to be published on the web alongside other Digital Britain publications.

Learning and Skills Improvement Service: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department provided to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion this constituted of the total budget of the Service.

Kevin Brennan: In 2008-09 BIS (then DIUS) funding was £99 million which represents 68 per cent. of the total LSIS income for that financial year.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he will reply to the letters of 1 June and 3 September 2009 from the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare on behalf of his constituent, Mrs. Jane Johnstone.

Patrick McFadden: The Department has no record of receiving these letters. Officials requested copies of these letters from the hon. Member and they have now been received. He will receive a response in due course.

Network Design and Procurement Group

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Digital Britain report, on what date the Network Design and Procurement Group was established.

Stephen Timms: The Network Design and Procurement Group, now called the Network Design and Procurement Company, was incorporated on 13 October.

Public Houses: Satellite Broadcasting

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Competition Commission on the supply to public houses of satellite television services; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has had no recent discussions with the Competition Commission on this issue.

Train to Gain Programme: Skills for Life Programme

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding support for the  (a) Train to Gain and  (b) Skills for Life programme (i) was provided in 2008-09 and (ii) is to be provided in 2009-10 to each receiving college in the North East.

Kevin Brennan: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has responsibility for the funding of post 19 further education and skills.
	Investment in Train to Gain in 2008-09 was £867 million and we plan to invest £925 million in 2009-10 (LSC grant letter, November 2008).
	Skills for Life delivery is spread across a number of programmes and funding is incorporated within those budget lines. The amount of funding made available for Skills for Life is based on planned levels of activity for an academic year. Planned investment in adult (19+) Skills for Life courses delivered through Train to Gain and Adult Learner Responsive routes is nearly £600 million for 2008-09 and nearly £670 million for 2009-10 financial years. The final actual spend for the 2008/09 academic year is not yet available.
	We do not hold information on LSC spend by region centrally. I have asked the chief executive of the LSC to write to you giving details of the funding provided to each college in the North East with a copy being placed in the House.

Union Modernisation Fund

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1756-7W on the Union Modernisation Fund, if he will place in the Library a copy of the audit reports from those additional companies.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 13 October 2009,  Official Report, column 836W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Accreditation Service for International Colleges

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations his Department has made into the Accreditation Service for International Colleges; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC) has been approved by the UK Border Agency as an accreditation body under tier 4 of the points-based system, having met the criteria set by the agency with the assistance of Ofsted.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the aim of the alcohol arrest referral pilot is; how much has been  (a) distributed to and  (b) spent by each local authority through the pilot in each year since its inception; and how much his Department expects to award under the pilot in the next two years.

Alan Campbell: The aim of the alcohol arrest referral pilots is a reduction in alcohol related re-offending. The arrest referral pilots have been provided with grants by the Home Office which have either been administered by the Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAATs) or the primary care trusts (PCTs). A table containing the amounts paid to the alcohol arrest referral pilots for 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 can be found at Table 1. No decisions have yet been made in respect of funding for 2010-11.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Organisations that received alcohol arrest referral (AAR) pilot grant funding for the years 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 
			  £ 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  Total 
			 Blackpool Council Children's Services - 20,000 53,125 73,125 
			 Bristol PCT - 24,753 42,277 67,030 
			 Chester DAAT 82,000 125,500 - 207,500 
			 Cleveland DAAT - 94,350 227,066 321,416 
			 Cumbria DAAT - 42,195 89,130 131,325 
			 Ealing PCT 81,000 126,000 - 207,000 
			 East Sussex DAAT - 35,000 138,334 173,334 
			 Islington PCT - 66,125 - 66,125 
			 Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland DAAT - 72,730 156,770 229,500 
			 Lincolnshire DAAT - 25,000 83,875 108,875 
			 Liverpool DAAT 82,000 166,500 138,750 387,250 
			 Manchester DAAT 82,000 91,500 - 173,500 
			 Newcastle Council Children's Services - 30,000 102,166 132,166 
			 North East Lincolnshire DAAT - 31,250 75,000 106,250 
			 Northamptonshire DAAT - 54,335 129,831 184,166 
			 Staffordshire DAAT - 30,000 100,000 130,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Community Safety Partnership - 63,000 135,333 198,333 
			 Swindon DAAT - 40,416 87,084 127,500 
			 Total 327,000 1,138,654 1,558,741 3,024,395

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of expenditure are covered by the Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot; how many people have participated in the pilot; what assessment has been made of the re-offending rate among those who attended advice sessions in each year since the grant began; and what estimate he has made of the likely re-offending rates in pilot areas in the next two years.

Alan Campbell: The grants paid by the Home Office in relation to the Alcohol Arrest Referral pilots cover both the start up and running costs of the scheme. These costs include staff costs, administration, recruitment, training and IT costs. The Alcohol Arrest Referral pilots are currently being independently evaluated and the final report of the evaluation will be finished in summer 2010. We will not know the re-offending rates until the evaluation is complete.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland were recorded in 2008; and how many of those resulted in a prosecution.

Alan Campbell: During 2008 there were three infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 reported at designated establishments in Scotland, none of which resulted in a prosecution.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences in respect of work to be carried out in Scotland were granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2008; and how many such project licences were in force at the end of 2008.

Alan Campbell: During 2008 153 project licences were granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland. On 31 December 2008 there were 491 project licences in force in Scotland.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places in Scotland were designated as  (a) a supplying establishment,  (b) a breeding establishment and  (c) a scientific procedure establishment under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at the end of 2008.

Alan Campbell: As at 31 December 2008 in Scotland there were 12 supplying, 19 breeding and 32 user establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. An establishment can be a user, breeder and supplier.

Antisocial Behaviour

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the use of Mosquito ultrasonic deterrent devices; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 14 October 2009
	The Home Office has received the following representations about the use of the Mosquito ultrasonic dispersal device:
	Six (letters) from MPs on behalf of their constituents;
	19 PQs from seven different MPs;
	14 letters from members of the public and local authorities.
	Of these, six were concerned that the device might breach a person's human rights and three were concerned with the legality of the device. Other questions and correspondence received referred to the use of the device and whether the Home Office will ban the device or provide guidance.
	The Home Office encourages local agencies to consider the full range of innovations, schemes and practices intended to reduce crime, the fear of crime and antisocial behaviour. It is for local agencies like the police and local authorities to decide on the most appropriate interventions to tackle antisocial behaviour based on their knowledge of what works best locally, adopting a tiered approach to tackling antisocial behaviour using a blend of measures to provide a proportionate response.
	The Home Office does not recommend or promote any commercial ultrasonic dispersal device or venture and at the present time does not have any plans to take further action on this matter.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in England in the last three years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 14 October 2009
	Information on the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued is available up to 31 December 2007. The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in England during 2005 was 3,907, in 2006 2,507 and in 2007 2,136, making a total of 8,550.

Departmental Training

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many external training courses were attended by staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each course.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the longest period has been between the  (a) application for and  (b) issue or refusal of a UK visa in Pakistan; and on what date the successful appeal against refusal of that visa was concluded.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) holds records of visa applications dating back to 1992 but it is not possible to ascertain precisely the processing times for older cases. Therefore, the UKBA has examined applications made in Pakistan since January 2006.
	The longest processing time from application to decision was 917 working days in respect of a family reunion application. The application was issued and hence there was no subsequent appeal.
	Current processing times are advertised on the Visa Services website at:
	www.ukvisas.gov.uk

Firearms

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearm offences, excluding those in which an air weapon was used, were recorded in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1998-99.

Alan Johnson: Available data relate to offences recorded in the period 1998-99 up to and including 2007-08, and are shown in the following table. Firearm statistics for 2008-09 are expected to be published in January 2010.
	Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person, or used as a threat.
	The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Data for the years up to and including 2001-02 are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	
		
			  Crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (including air weapons) were reported to have been used( 1)  by region and police force area: England and Wales, 1998-99 to 2007-08 
			  Recorded crime 
			   Total number of offences 
			  Police force area  1998-99( 2)  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02( 3)  2002-03( 4)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  North East Region   
			 Cleveland 20 26 16 24 18 45 37 41 19 15 
			 Durham 13 40 18 19 16 15 21 18 14 45 
			 Northumbria 76 107 99 86 103 169 182 137 111 78 
			
			 North West Region   
			 Cheshire 32 22 44 50 31 44 61 71 41 59 
			 Cumbria 11 5 13 9 13 11 26 18 21 18 
			 Greater Manchester 647 875 935 1,361 1,240 1,275 1,268 1,200 993 1,160 
			 Lancashire 50 78 59 103 66 58 259 372 364 349 
			 Merseyside 286 240 278 299 318 483 491 485 410 398 
			
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Region   
			 Humberside 76 61 69 63 68 68 174 108 117 58 
			 North Yorkshire 11 8 9 28 18 23 13 15 14 17 
			 South Yorkshire 75 114 129 170 153 127 185 301 211 202 
			 West Yorkshire 193 191 335 332 333 269 318 355 319 332 
			
			  East Midlands Region   
			 Derbyshire 52 65 72 58 73 75 149 109 83 70 
			 Leicestershire 98 71 58 74 174 141 123 89 109 134 
			 Lincolnshire 16 19 24 22 37 26 90 72 45 41 
			 Northamptonshire 54 48 40 55 107 123 113 128 159 164 
			 Nottinghamshire 111 173 157 204 264 233 303 277 196 240 
			  West Midlands Region   
			 Staffordshire 23 53 108 116 131 108 144 128 94 123 
			 Warwickshire 20 14 39 53 62 102 73 80 90 107 
			 West Mercia 38 36 41 54 48 62 151 115 58 124 
			 West Midlands 408 664 817 1,288 1,101 1,138 959 946 979 974 
			
			  East of England Region   
			 Bedfordshire 46 56 48 82 86 89 94 103 86 83 
			 Cambridgeshire 35 43 31 49 57 34 50 34 24 30 
			 Essex 47 61 77 98 148 145 193 280 255 260 
			 Hertfordshire 30 36 36 69 139 138 139 114 89 112 
			 Norfolk 34 24 20 26 36 33 23 29 34 43 
			 Suffolk 15 18 22 15 28 45 59 58 42 38 
			
			  London Region( 5) 2,034 2,945 3,036 4,199 4,202 3,891 3,697 3,884 3,331 3399 
			
			  South East Region   
			 Hampshire 38 52 49 58 97 130 148 85 122 100 
			 Kent 76 109 108 60 64 65 100 142 92 82 
			 Surrey 35 42 52 40 34 88 63 87 60 70 
			 Sussex 115 119 110 155 136 82 67 85 84 69 
			 Thames Valley 96 107 198 267 362 421 437 401 332 322 
			
			  South West Region   
			 Avon and Somerset 71 103 100 131 119 123 196 167 138 116 
			 Devon and Cornwall 75 81 64 52 36 84 189 174 132 111 
			 Dorset 11 12 14 34 17 45 49 27 28 21 
			 Gloucestershire 22 21 23 89 92 108 87 77 65 43 
			 Wiltshire 19 10 13 26 60 53 49 43 69 49 
			
			  Wales   
			 Dyfed Powys 16 13 26 26 17 37 40 21 17 25 
			 Gwent 26 19 11 18 52 74 85 53 33 47 
			 North Wales 27 10 6 6 18 11 60 88 98 53 
			 South Wales 31 52 67 56 74 47 104 71 67 84 
			
			  England and Wales 5,209 6,843 7,471 10,024 10,248 10,338 11,069 11,088 9,645 9,865 
			
			  England and Wales 3,175 3,898 4,435 5,825 6,046 6,447 7,372 7,204 6,314 6,466 
			 (excluding London Region)   
			 (1) Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat. (2) There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. (3) Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (4) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002, which may have resulted in inflated figures for some crime categories. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable. (5) City of London and Metropolitan police force areas.

Forensic Science Service

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces use the Forensic Science Service centre in Chorley.

Alan Campbell: Under its current business model, the Forensic Science Service laboratory in Chorley can process work from any force in England and Wales, depending upon the type of test required. Chorley does not have the facilities to undertake the full range of forensic analysis. Primarily, the Chorley laboratory currently supports forces in North West-GMP, Merseyside, Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire and North Wales-along with the Isle of Man and Staffordshire.

Hooliganism: Football

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance his Department is providing to the organisers of the Euro 2012 football tournament in Poland and Ukraine on safety and security issues.

Alan Campbell: There is close liaison with governmental, policing and other authorities in Poland and Ukraine. Home Office is supporting the host authorities in developing an integrated safety and security strategy for the Euro 2012 football tournament. This work is being pursued in partnership with the UEFA and the pan-European group of football safety and security experts which the Home Office chairs.

Identity Cards: Finance

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to Baroness Hanham of 1 June 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA35, on identity cards, what payments have been made to external marketing communications or public relations firms in respect of communications on identity cards.

Phil Woolas: In the financial year 2008-2009 payments of £62,000 were made to marketing communication agencies for public information activities to ensure businesses were aware of the Identity Card for Foreign Nationals when it was introduced in November 2008. These costs were shared by the Identity and Passport Service, UK Borders Agency and the Home Office.
	In the financial year 2009-10 payments of £464,314 have been made to marketing communication agencies by the Identity and Passport Service in preparation for the launch of the Identity Card and Identification Card for UK citizens in Greater Manchester and for airside workers later this year. These payments contribute towards the cost of a public information campaign targeted at businesses and consumers.
	No payments have been made to public relations firms in respect of communications on identity cards during either 2008-2009 or to date during 2009-2010.

Immigrants: Young Offender Institutions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people at each young offender institution who were detained beyond their sentence expiry date as a consequence of unresolved immigration issues there were in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2008.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 October 2009
	Detention beyond sentence for foreign national offenders under the age of 18 is maintained only under my authorisation and in consultation with various sources of expertise, including the Office of the Children's Champion and Children's Services. Detention of child offenders is a last resort and all relevant matters are taken into account when considering their welfare.
	Information on the number of foreign nationals held beyond their sentence specifically in each young offender institution can be obtained only by examining each individual record at disproportionate cost.
	The Ministry of Justice latest published figures for the foreign national prisoner population as at 30 June 2009 on their website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm

Offensive Weapons: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the adequacy of the provisions of current legislation in reducing the number of offences related to the possession of a knife; and what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the levels of awareness of these provisions by  (a) the police and  (b) local communities.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 20 July 2009
	Through the Tackling Knives Action Programme we examined legislation which resulted in an increase in the maximum penalty for possession of an offensive knife/weapon in a public place from two years to four years. We have also made it clear that anyone aged 16 or over should be prosecuted at their first offence. In addition, in phase 1 of the programme we have funded TKAP-police forces increased use of stop and search powers (under section 1 of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) to recover weapons, we have increased the minimum age to be sold a knife from 16 to 18, created a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon and made it an aggravating factor if the person used is a child. This is having an effect-more people are going to jail for carrying knives and they are getting longer sentences.
	In order to increase levels of awareness of the provisions available, on 22 July the Government hosted a Tackling Knives Action Programme/Youth Crime Action Plan One Year On Conference, which brought together ACPO representatives, frontline local agencies, community representatives, third sector stakeholders and young people. To further raise awareness, the Home Office will soon publish a tackling knives good practice guide.

Offensive Weapons: Crime Prevention

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations have received funding from his Department under the Tackling Knives Action Programme; and how much was allocated in each case.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 21 July 2009
	In June the Government announced that more than 150 organisations will receive £2.3 million in 2009-10 to tackle knife crime, serious youth violence and support the victims of violent crime through the Community Fund, Youth Sector Development Fund and Victims' Fund.
	The Victims' Fund (Homicide) allocated £334,000 between six organisations that support the families and friends of victims of homicide:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Mothers Against Murder and Aggression 75,000 
			 Winston's Wish (an organisation targeting bereaved children) 47,000 
			 National Victims Association (chaired by David Hines) 74,000 
			 Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse 35,000 
			 Damilola Taylor Trust 75,000 
			 Support After Murder and Manslaughter Merseyside 28,000 
		
	
	Details of other successful third sector organizations in receipt of Home Office funding are available in the following link:
	www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/funding/funding013.htm

Police: Finance

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the aim of the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Grant is; how much Government funding has been  (a) distributed to and (b) spent by each local authority in each year since their inception; and how much he expects to be spent in each of the next two years.

Alan Campbell: The aim of the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice (NCJ) grant is to help improve public confidence in how crime is tackled and justice delivered across England and Wales. This is targeted through a network of 60 Neighbourhood Crime and Justice 'Pioneer Areas'-60 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). Funding is paid out retrospectively against approved spend. Local programmes of work commenced between October 2008 and March 2009.
	The following table shows the 2008-09 approved claims for funding by area and the amounts that areas can spend up to in 2009-10.
	
		
			  Areas  2008-09  2009-10 
			   Claimed  Allocation 
			 Barking and Dagenham 50,000 70,000 
			 Barnsley 50,000 70,000 
			 Birmingham 49,963 75,000 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 31,670 70,000 
			 Blackpool 50,000 70,000 
			 Bolton 60,000 75,000 
			 Bradford 29,889 75,000 
			 Brent 60,000 75,000 
			 Bristol 59,934 75,000 
			 Caerphilly 25,000 70,000 
			 Camden 25,674 70,000 
			 Cardiff 2,408 75,000 
			 Doncaster 60,000 75,000 
			 Gateshead 0 45,000 
			 Greenwich 34,133 70,000 
			 Hackney 13,498 70,000 
			 Halton 0 70,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 40,000 70,000 
			 Haringey 8,516 70,000 
			 Islington 31,895 70,000 
			 Kingston upon Hull 50,000 70,000 
			 Kirklees 0 75,000 
			 Knowsley 41,005 70,000 
			 Lambeth 49,816 75,000 
			 Leicester 59,319 75,000 
			 Lewisham 7,054 70,000 
			 Liverpool 60,000 75,000 
			 Luton 50,000 70,000 
			 Manchester 46,959 75,000 
			 Middlesbrough 50,000 70,000 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 60,000 75,000 
			 Newham 25,000 70,000 
			 Newport 37,414 70,000 
			 North East Lincolnshire 28,231 70,000 
			 Northampton 28,640 70,000 
			 Nottingham 57,492 75,000 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 35,000 0 
			 Oldham 25,000 70,000 
			 Peterborough 20,136 70,000 
			 Preston 36,304 70,000 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 45,685 70,000 
			 Rochdale 35,000 70,000 
			 Rotherham 34,063 70,000 
			 Salford 42,627 70,000 
			 Sandwell 59,039 75,000 
			 Sefton 0 75,000 
			 Sheffield 4,427 75,000 
			 Slough 50,000 70,000 
			 South Tyneside 50,000 70,000 
			 Southampton 32,404 70,000 
			 St Helens 50,000 70,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 28,968 70,000 
			 Sunderland 45,000 75,000 
			 Swansea 23,654 70,000 
			 Tameside 32,223 70,000 
			 Thanet 50,000 70,000 
			 Tower Hamlets 40,430 70,000 
			 Wakefield 59,699 75,000 
			 Walsall 13,127 75,000 
			 Waltham Forest 1,940 70,000 
			 Wolverhampton 43,313 70,000 
			 Total 2,191,548 4,275,000

Police: Finance

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of expenditure are covered by the neighbourhood crime and justice grants funding; how many neighbourhood crime and justice co-ordinators are funded by the grant; what the average salary cost of a neighbourhood crime and justice co-ordinator is; what the official duties of neighbourhood crime and justice co-ordinators are; and what the average number of contracted hours of such co-ordinators are.

Alan Campbell: Home Office expenditure covers funding for the employment of Neighbourhood Crime and Justice (NCJ) coordinators and supplementary spend against three evidence-based priorities to improve public confidence in how crime is tackled and justice delivered. These priorities are to
	raise awareness and understanding of the public's entitlements from the police and other criminal justice agencies;
	ensure that public services are taking action on the crime and antisocial behaviour issues that are local priorities for the public;
	help demonstrate to the public that there are consequences for those who break the law.
	The NCJ grant provides funding for co-ordinators in 60 NCJ Pioneer Areas. These are 60 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) which were invited to become Pioneer Areas based on a range of indicators, including public perceptions of antisocial behaviour and confidence in local services, deprivation levels and population size.
	The specific official duties and terms and conditions of NCJ co-ordinators will vary according to the prevailing arrangements within each Pioneer Area. Information on average salaries and hours is not held centrally. They are directly employed by, and therefore responsible to, one of the organisations that comprise the local CDRP, typically the local authority.

Police: Football

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with police forces on the effects of the compensation paid to football supporters on the application of section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.

Alan Campbell: Home Office has had discussions on the use of section 27 powers in policing football operations with the ACPO lead on football matters. This provision is one of a number of operational tools available to chief police officers. This is a matter for local chief officers. Section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 makes clear that the powers should be used in a proportionate and appropriate manner.

Racial Hatred: Football

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of racist abuse relating to football matches police forces in England and Wales received during the 2008-09 football season.

Alan Campbell: Levels of racist behaviour in connection with football matches in England and Wales is extremely low. During the football season 2008-09, over 36 million spectators attended over 3,100 competitive and friendly matches. In total, local police recorded 64 incidents of hate crime inside and outside of football stadia. This categorisation of hate crime includes racist and homophobic chanting or behaviour, incidents involving ethnic minority fans or local residents, the distribution of racist material, and other racist or extreme right wing activity. The incidents recorded usually involved individuals as opposed to groups of fans.
	A great deal has been achieved over the past decade in terms of preventing and tackling racism in connection with football. All of the agencies involved in football safety and security, including supporter groups, are committed to working together to combat hate crime, including racism. The law makes clear that the courts should consider imposing a football banning order on any person convicted of racist chanting or other racially aggravated offences committed in connection with football.

Road Traffic Offences: M4

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought for illegal use of the M4 bus and taxi lane since the lane was established.

Alan Campbell: This information is not collected centrally. Court proceedings data held by the Ministry of Justice do not separately identify offences of illegal use of bus lanes (under Section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Regulation 10 of the Traffic Signs and General Directions Regulations 2002) from other offences of neglect of traffic directions. Nor is the location of such offences recorded.

Road Traffic Offences: M4

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to monitor compliance with the terms of use of the M4 bus lane.

Alan Campbell: The police can deal with illegal use of the bus lane by giving an oral or written warning, the issue of a £60 fixed penalty notice or by proceeding to prosecution. Metropolitan Police traffic officers are regularly deployed on that section of the M4 which includes the bus lane. Any police officer who witnesses an offence taking place there will take whatever action is appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, the Metropolitan Police are working in partnership with the Highways Agency and Transport for London to devise medium and long term solutions in relation to the lane's use and safety.

Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department plans to make a submission to the Scottish Executive's National Conversation consultation on Scotland's constitutional future.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has not submitted evidence to the Scottish Government's National Conversation.
	The Commission on Scottish Devolution was established by majority vote in the Scottish Parliament and with the full support of the UK Government. UK Departments submitted evidence to the Commission during its first phase of evidence gathering.
	The commission recently published its final report, which can be found at:
	http://www.commissiononscottishdevolution.org.uk/uploads/2009-06-12-csd-final-report-2009fbookmarked.pdf
	A steering group has been established under the chairmanship of the Secretary of State for Scotland to help the UK Government and the Scottish Parliament plan how to take forward the Calman recommendations and deliver stronger devolution within a stronger United Kingdom.

Students: Immigration

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many students from colleges not on the Register of Education and Training Providers have applied for permanent residence in the UK in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The student category does not lead to settlement and information is not available as to how many migrants who have been granted settlement were previously here as students.

Stun Guns: Children

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safety assessment his Department has conducted on the use of taser guns and attenuating energy projectiles in relation to children; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office Scientific Development Branch have produced three reports evaluating Taser devices. We have also submitted the use of Taser according to Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidance to an independent group of medical advisers-DOMILL (Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) Sub-committee on the Medical Implications of Less-lethal Weapons).
	DOMILL has issued five statements on the medical implications of the use of the Taser. Its view is that the risk of death or serious injury from the use of Tasers within ACPO Guidance and Policy is very low. The fourth DOMILL statement identified children and adults of smaller stature as being at potentially greater risk from the cardiac effects of Taser currents than normal adults of average or large stature. The ACPO guidance to officers highlights this point.
	ACPO guidance on the use of Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) states that every effort should be made to ensure that children are not placed at risk by the firing of baton rounds in public order situations. The guidance is also clear that deployment of AEP in a public order situation must be restricted to use against clearly identified individuals who are presenting a threat which must be countered.
	Medical evaluation of the AEP by DOMILL concluded that the risk of serious and life-threatening injury to the head is less than that from its predecessor the L21A1 Baton Round, which already had a low risk of such injury.

UK Border Agency: Manpower

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers his Department employs overseas to screen passengers of inbound flights to the United Kingdom at airports  (a) in and  (b) outside the EU.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 October 2009
	The UK Border Agency's Risk and Liaison Overseas Network (RALON) currently employs 98 staff designated as Immigration Liaison Managers and Officers overseas, 14 within the EU and 84 in non-EU locations.
	One of RALON's core functions is to support carriers at airports to identify those without correct documentation from seeking to travel to the UK.
	RALON staff only operate at airports in an advisory capacity, achieved through the provision of training and expertise to airlines in UK passport and visa requirements and forgery awareness, to assist them to prevent inadequately documented passengers from boarding. RALON staff have no legal powers overseas and the decision on whether to carry a passenger is always made by the airline.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what obligations local authorities have to provide sufficient allotment sites to meet demand.

Barbara Follett: Under the Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908 there is a duty on local authorities to provide allotments where they perceive a demand for them in their area. Where an allotments authority is of the opinion that there is a demand for allotments in its area, section 23 of the 1908 Act puts the authority under a duty to provide a sufficient number of allotments and to let them to persons residing in its area who want them.
	Legislation does not lay down minimum standards or a required nature or extent of allotment garden provision. The Government consider it appropriate that each local authority should decide for itself what proportion of its resources to devote to these purposes. Allotment authorities therefore have room to exercise discretion about the level of and time scale for provision of allotment gardens and facilities on site.

Allotments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for an applicant to secure a local authority allotment.

Barbara Follett: Local authorities are responsible for keeping and managing waiting lists for allotments they provide. Government do not require local authorities to provide data on the average waiting time for an applicant to secure a local authority allotment.

Audit Commission: Pay

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions  (a) Ministers in his Department and  (b) members of his Department's board have had with the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission on the consolidated pay rise for the Commission's senior management that followed the cancellation in June of the optional bonus scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: There have been no such discussions between CLG Ministers or CLG board members.

Building Regulations: Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contraventions of Part L of the Building Regulations have taken place in each year since 2000; how many of them were resolved before project completion; and how many of the contraventions which were left unresolved before project completion resulted in prosecution.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 September 2009,  Official Report, column 1830W.

Council Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new council homes have been built in England in each year since 1997; and at what cost in each such year.

Ian Austin: Figures showing how many new council (local authority) homes have been built in England in each year since 1997 were released in Live Table 244 on the CLG website in August 2009. These include total house building completions by tenure, including local authority completions at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/140912.xls
	Estimates on the cost of local authority house building activity is not held centrally.

Council Tax: Appeals

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 308-9W, on council tax: appeals, what information his Department holds on the  (a) number of council tax appeals decided and  (b) decisions relating to each such case in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06.

Barbara Follett: The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) does not hold information on the number of council tax appeals decided in 2004-05 or 2005-06. There are no statistical data for those decisions and to provide the data would incur disproportionate cost, but all the individual decisions are available for inspection in the VTS' offices and many of the decisions appear on their website:
	www.valuationtribunal.gov.uk

Councillors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 309-11W, on councillors, what mechanisms he uses to assess the implementation by political parties of the recommendations of the Councillors Commission report.

Barbara Follett: The Government are not monitoring the political parties' implementation of the recommendations of the Councillors Commission report. We are however supporting the Leadership Centre for Local Government to work with the political parties on the 21st Century Councillors programme and the national roll-out of the Be A Councillor campaign, both of which take forward the Councillors Commission agenda.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's policy is on sending a written acknowledgement, including a case reference number, on receipt of a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Barbara Follett: It is the policy of this Department to send acknowledgements of all Freedom of Information requests received within seven days of receipt in the Department except where it is possible to provide a substantive response within that time or shortly thereafter.

Departmental Furniture

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 234W, on departmental furniture, which  (a) offices and  (b) individuals received each (i) Dean and (ii) Hay model of the Herman Miller chair.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government purchased the Dean and Hay model of chairs for use in general areas of Eland House, not for individual staff. These chairs were purchased through Herman Miller, but manufactured by Orangebox.

Departmental Furniture

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 234W, on departmental furniture, how many Herman Miller chairs were ordered by the Department in 2008-09; and what the  (a) model and  (b) cost, including value added tax, was of each.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government did not order any chairs manufactured by Herman Miller in 2008-09.

Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty dwellings were owned by  (a) local authorities,  (b) registered social landlords and  (c) others in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows estimates of the number of empty dwellings owned by local authorities, registered social landlords and in the private sector in England in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 Local authority 42,870 40,960 36,940 
			 Registered social landlords 30,170 30,770 29,240 
			 Private enterprise 675,120 691,590 717,840 
			 Total number of vacants 748,160 763,320 784,020 
			  Sources:  Total vacants: Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities for October 2006-2008. Local authority: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) submitted to Communities and Local Government by local authorities for1 April 2006-2008; RSL: Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) as reported to the Housing Corporation by registered social landlords for31 March 2006-2008. 
		
	
	Total vacant dwellings reported by local authorities through Council Taxbase returns include long term and short term empty dwellings.
	Figures for Registered Social Landlords are for self-contained general needs units only.
	Vacant private enterprise dwellings are estimated by subtracting RSL and local authority vacant dwellings from the total number of vacant dwellings.

SpaceFlex

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on the SpaceFlex initiative in his Department; and how much has been spent on consultancy services associated with the initiative.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government has spent £4,685,000 on the SpaceFlex initiative, of which £1,045,000 has been spent on consultancy services.
	The SpaceFlex initiative moves Communities and Local Government staff from two buildings into one, enabling savings of £4.5 million per annum on reduced operating costs.

Housing: Carbon Monoxide

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce the outcome of his review of part J of the Building Regulations in respect of the provision of carbon monoxide detectors.

Ian Austin: The part J consultation commenced on 3 September and is due to close on 26 November. The provision of carbon monoxide detectors is just one aspect being considered as part of this consultation. We expect to announce the outcome of this review in April 2010, six months before coming into effect.

Housing: Finance

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing revenue has been transferred from each local housing authority to central government in each of the last three years; and what methodology his Department uses to redistribute such funds to local authorities.

Ian Austin: holding answer 14 October 2009
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2006W.
	The methodology employed for establishing subsidy payments to, and receipts due, from local authorities is set out in detail within the HRA Manual, which is available on the Communities and Local Government website, and annual Determinations issued by the Department. Each local authority's guideline rental income and estimated need to spend on their properties are calculated on the basis of data supplied by the authorities. The results of these calculations are published by the Department annually in the Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Determination. Payments to or from the Exchequer are made in 10 instalments through the year.

Housing: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment of the Government's commitment to build all publicly-funded homes to the Lifetime Homes Standard from 2011.

Ian Austin: In June 2007 the Department published a consultation on Making a Rating Mandatory within the Code for Sustainable Homes. This included an impact assessment which took account of the public sector commitment to build to Lifetime Homes Standards from 2011. The document can be downloaded at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/doc/Thefutureofthecode.doc
	We will be consulting on proposed changes to the code for Sustainable Homes in due course, and this will include our proposal to make Lifetime Homes Standards mandatory at Code Level 4. The consultation will be supported by a full impact assessment.

Housing: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the requirements for compliance with the Lifetime Homes Standard are.

Ian Austin: Some elements of the Lifetime Homes Standard are already included in Part M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations, including features such as level or gently sloping approach to the property, level entrance threshold, accessible heights for switches and controls, and accessible requirements for common areas of communal dwellings. Compliance with these elements is assessed through Local Authority Building Control or Government Approved Inspectors.
	The Lifetime Homes Standard is also included within the Health and Wellbeing category of the Code for Sustainable Homes where it is mandatory for properties at Code Level 6 (though not currently at lower code levels). Since May 2008 all new homes are required to be rated under the code, though a developer may choose to sign a free 'nil rated' certificate if they wish only to build to current Building Regulations rather than higher levels of the code.
	We will be consulting later this year on our proposals to make Lifetime Homes Standards Mandatory at Code level 4 from 2010. Assessing compliance with the Code for Sustainable Homes is undertaken by registered Code Assessors.
	In some instances local planning authorities also require new housing to deliver varying levels of compliance with the Lifetime Homes Standard through the planning system.

Housing: Valuation

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 1924-7W, to the hon. Member for Ludlow of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 2131-2W, and to the hon. Member for Meriden of 16 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 2212-4W, on housing valuation, how many properties are recorded with each individual  (a) dwellinghouse code and  (b) value significant code, including each individual (i) type, (ii) number of rooms, (iii) number of bedrooms, (iv) number of floors, (v) floor level, (vi) parking, (vii) garaging, (viii) conservatory type, (ix) age, (x) outbuilding and (xi) modernisation code in the local authority area of Basingstoke, according to electronic records held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 1924-7W, to the hon. Member for Ludlow of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 2131-2W, and to the hon. Member for Meriden of 16 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 2212-4W, on housing valuation, how many properties in each London borough are recorded with each individual  (a) dwellinghouse code and  (b) value significant code, including each individual (i) type, (ii) number of rooms, (iii) number of bedrooms, (iv) number of bathrooms, (v) floors, (vi) floor level, (vii) parking, (viii) garaging, (ix) conservatory type, (x) age, (xi) outbuilding and (xii) modernisation code according to electronic records held by the Valuation Office Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in Huntingdonshire district are recorded with each individual  (a) dwellinghouse code and  (b) value significant code, including each individual (i) type, (ii) number of rooms, (iii) number of bedrooms, (iv) number of bathrooms, (v) floors, (vi) floor level, (vii) parking, (viii) garaging, (ix) conservatory type, (x) age, (xi) outbuilding and (xii) modernisation code according to electronic records held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Barbara Follett: The number of properties with each individual dwellinghouse code and each value significant code, for all local authority areas in England, will be placed in the Library of the House.

Land Use: South East

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the amount of undeveloped land appropriate for housing owned by those local authorities in the South East which have indicated they have insufficient housing supply.

Ian Austin: Approximately 3,238 hectares of public land exists in the South East, based on a September 2009 estimate. This consists of a mixture of projects under construction and land that will come forward at different times. It will not all be suitable for housing. The figure is for all public sector bodies generally-not just local planning authorities.

Looking After Our Town Centres

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the Independent Retailers' Association's submission to his Department's review, Looking after our town centres.

Barbara Follett: Looking after our Town Centres was a joint CLG/DCMS guide which sets out ways in which local authorities can promote alternative uses for vacant shops in town centres, and other ideas for boosting high streets. It brings together existing guidance; highlights practical approaches and explains additional steps the Government are taking to help town centres. We did not invite submissions when preparing the guide, and the Independent Retailers' Association have not contacted us about it. However, we continue to discuss issues affecting town centres with a wide range of stakeholders.

National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what remuneration each of the board members of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit received in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit's Board were appointed in November 2006 to oversee and steer the unit's work programme, and help deliver its objective to provide an evidence base for advice on improving housing supply and affordability. They bring an independent and expert view to the housing supply debate, based on their wide range of expertise in housing and economics. This shapes the unit's work and outputs, such as its advice on housing supply numbers to be tested in the planning process, and its research programme.
	Board members are entitled to claim the following remuneration for their NHPAU activities:
	Chair: £468.00 per day up to a maximum of 2.5 days per month;
	Other Board members (x 5): £350 per day up to a maximum of 2.5 days per month.
	However, the total remuneration amounts paid to Board members over each of the three years was considerably less than their entitlement:
	 November 2006 to March 2007: £9,047
	Each Board member claimed between £0 and £2,450 during this period
	 April 2007 to March 2008:: £26,972
	Each Board member claimed between £0 and £7,722 during this period
	 April 2008 to March 2009: £30,991
	Each Board member claimed between £2800 and £8,750 during this period
	 April 2009  to July 2009: £8,701
	Each Board member has claimed between £0 and £3,276 during this period.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what reference number format is used by the Valuation Office Agency to describe different sub-locations for non-domestic rates purposes.

Barbara Follett: A simple unique alpha-numeric code, which acts as a label for a particular category of property having similar characteristics.

Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what directions have been issued to date by the Secretary of State, pursuant to Part 1 section 2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, in re-designating the regional planning bodies in each Government Office region outside London; and what the  (a) old and  (b) new designated organisations are in each case.

Ian Austin: The table shows the directions that have been made in respect of the designation of recent regional planning bodies.
	
		
			  Previous regional planning body name  New regional planning body name  Date direction came into effect 
			 North West Regional Assembly North West regional Leaders' Forum 14 July 2008 
			 South East England Regional Assembly South East England Partnership Board (1)1 April 2009 
			 North East Assembly North East Planning Body 1 April 2009 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Assembly Yorkshire and Humber Joint Regional Board 1 April 2009 
			 South West Regional Assembly South West Strategic Leaders' Board 8 May 2009 
			 (1 )Revised due to change in membership 20 July 2009

Positive Futures Programme

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the aim of the Positive Futures Programme is; how much funding was  (a) distributed to local authorities via the Programme by (i) his Department and (ii) each other contributing partner and  (b) subsequently spent by local authorities by local authority in each year since the Programme began; and what estimate he has made of the amount of such funding to be provided in the next two years.

Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
	The Positive Futures programme aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in substance misuse, crime and antisocial behaviour by engaging them in activities and support them in accessing education, training, employment and volunteering opportunities.
	Total Home Office expenditure on the Positive Futures programmes is as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure  £ 
			 2004-05 outturn expenditure 6,240,990 
			 2005-06 outturn expenditure 5,812,928 
			 2006-07 outturn expenditure 5,832,101 
			 2007-08 outturn expenditure 6,007,641 
			 2008-09 outturn expenditure 5,988,469 
			 2009-10 budget 5,999,000 
			  Source: Home Office Accounting System 
		
	
	Expenditure from previous years, funding from contributing partners and breakdown by local authority is not available without disproportionate cost.
	The indicative budget allocation for 2010-11 is £5,999,000. Budget allocations for 2011-12 have yet to be determined.

Positive Futures Programme

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what categories of project the Positive Futures Programme budget has been spent on; how many people have received assistance from the scheme; what the drop-out rate has been in each year since the Programme began; and what drop-out rate is predicted for the next two years.

Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
	The Positive Futures programme has provided grant funding to projects to work with 10 to 19-year-olds and deliver sports activities, physical activities, arts and performance activities and educational and advice sessions. Spend is not broken down by category of project. Consistent and comparable figures are only available from 2006-07 onwards and data shows that the total number of participants in contact with the programme from October 2006 to March 2008 was 71,062. The latest data on numbers of participants for 2008-09 is expected to be published in December 2009.
	Positive Futures is an open access early intervention programme and does not have specified start and end points. Participants do not therefore drop out but do engage with the programme for different periods achieving a variety of qualifications and outcomes through their period of engagement. In 2007-08, 64.5 per cent. of participants recorded engagement levels were in a positive direction (which included gaining qualifications or employment) compared to 58 per cent. in 2006-07. Data on engagement levels for 2008-09 is expected to be published in December 2009. No prediction on engagement levels for the next two years is available.

Public Land Initiative

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations attended the event hosted by the Homes and Communities Agency of 21 July 2009 on the proposed Public Land Initiative; and when he expects to announce the approved delivery partners for that initiative.

John Healey: The Public Land Initiative (PLI) was started in June this year as part of the Prime Minister's Housing Pledge. It will produce 1,250 new homes, including around 500 affordable homes, on a small number of sites owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). This is an important new initiative, not just because it will create much needed new homes, but because it is testing out a different approach to procurement and delivery.
	The interest from industry has been significant. 152 organisations attended a seminar organised by the HCA in July before the formal procurement started. This event attracted people from across the sector, including traditional housebuilders, construction and development firms, and registered social landlords. I have placed a full list of companies attending this seminar in the House of Commons Library.
	In December I will announce final decisions on the firms that make the panel as direct delivery partners, and the allocated sites. I expect the first builders on site by April and the first 50 of the new homes finished within a year of that.

Radicalism

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on changing the level of priority accorded to tackling  (a) violent extremism,  (b) extremism perpetrated in the name of Islam,  (c) extremism perpetrated in the name of neo-nazi and fascist causes and  (d) extremism claimed by others; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: We are clear that the threat from al-Qaeda influenced extremism remains the most significant terrorist threat to the UK, although we have recently been able to downgrade the official threat level from 'severe' (an attack is highly likely) to 'substantial' (an attack is a strong possibility).
	We are working to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to live in a safe, prosperous and healthy community and are determined to support communities by increasing their capacity to tackle the philosophy or practice of violence in their own communities. A number of related but distinct programmes contribute to this, including promoting community cohesion, preventing violent extremism and tackling hate crime and other forms of extremism.
	The level of priority accorded to different types of extremism will depend on the level of the problem in the local area. We are also seeking to work to eradicate the risk of far-right violent extremism. Our objective is to attempt to impact on extremist ideologies that threaten our communities irrespective of their source and origin.
	Ministers and officials have frequent formal and informal contact with communities and local authorities where issues and concerns presented by different forms of extremism are discussed. We do not record the number of these representations.

Regional Government: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 398W, on regional assemblies, what the estimated total revenue cost is of the Regional Assemblies and their successor bodies, including local authority funding.

Ian Austin: The estimated total revenue cost for Regional Assemblies and their successor bodies for 2009-10 provided by Central Government remains at £18 million. Local authorities may also provide funding for activities but details of these are not held centrally.

Shops: Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which local authorities have received funding from his Department's empty shop revival fund;
	(2)  with reference to his Department's press release of 13 August 2009, on the empty shops revival fund, whether local authorities are required to specify how they will spend their allocation before they receive a grant from the fund.

Barbara Follett: The following table lists the 57 local authorities that have each received £52,631.58 to help them promote alternative uses for vacant shops in town centres, and other ideas for boosting high streets. This is new funding for 2009-10 only, which forms part of the package of support that CLG is providing to boost town centres and high streets, as set out in Looking after our Town Centres, which we published with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in April.
	We allocated this funding to local authorities showing high levels of deprivation and high shop vacancy rates. There was no bidding process. In accordance with the Government's policy on local authority funding, this is unringfenced grant and councils are not required to inform CLG how they intend to spend this funding. However, we wrote to all local authorities receiving the grant, highlighting some of the ideas and approaches that councils are already taking to boost their high streets and other support available.
	 Local authorities receiving empty shops funding
	Ashfield
	Barnsley
	Barrow-in-Furness
	Birmingham
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Boston
	Bristol
	Burnley
	Copeland
	Corby
	Coventry
	Darlington
	Derby City
	Doncaster
	Dudley
	Durham
	Gateshead
	Great Yarmouth
	Hackney
	Halton
	Harlow
	Hartlepool
	Hastings
	Hyndburn
	Ipswich
	Kingston Upon Hull
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Leeds
	Leicester City
	Liverpool
	Manchester
	Mansfield
	Middlesbrough
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	North East Lincolnshire
	North Tyneside
	Nottingham City
	Pendle
	Preston
	Rochdale
	Rossendale
	Rotherham
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	South Tyneside
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Sunderland
	Tameside
	Thanet
	Walsall
	Wigan
	Wolverhampton

Social Rented Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government is taking to ensure that rent increases for housing association tenants in England are affordable.

Ian Austin: The Tenant Services Authority regulates registered social landlords (RSLs) in England to ensure that they provide decent homes and services for tenants. To protect tenants, TSA regulation places a limit on the maximum amount by which rents can rise each year. This limit is linked to the retail price index (RPI) as at the previous September. Rent can be increased by a maximum of RPI plus 0.5 per cent., plus £2 per week for rents that are below target levels.
	In July, as part of a consultation on draft directions to the TSA, the Government published proposals relating to the regulation of RSL rents after 1 April 2010. The consultation paper is available via the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/tsadirections
	The Department intends to publish the final directions shortly.

Social Rented Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made in discussions with the Tenant Services Authority on future rent restructuring to replace the current guideline limit; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: In July, as part of a consultation on draft directions to the Tenant Services Authority, the Government published proposals relating to the regulation of rents set by registered social landlords after 1 April 2010. These proposals are based on a continuation of the rent restructuring policy set out in the document Guide to Social Rent Reforms which was published by the Government in March 2001. The consultation paper is available via the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/tsadirections
	The Department intends to publish the final directions shortly.

Social Rented Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing associations in England have increased rents by the full guideline limit in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: The TSA annually collects (through the RSR form) details of the average actual rent and target rent, for each local authority area by bed size for each housing association with more than 1,000 homes. Because of the impact of new properties being developed each year and the option to re-let properties at target rent, it is not possible to tell from this data whether the landlord has applied the full allowable rent increase.
	Using this data, the TSA monitors the convergence of actual rents to target rents and looks to identify evidence of rents increasing too quickly (or falling too slowly). Where this happens, the TSA's field teams will discuss the issue with the landlord concerned and carry out any necessary investigations.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing units have been built in each of the last 10 years; what the cost  (a) in total and  (b) per unit was in each such year; how many such units are planned to be built in each of the next five years; what the estimated cost (i) in total and (ii) per unit is in each of those years; and how many households were on a housing waiting list for (A) local authority housing and (B) housing association housing (1) in each of the last 10 years and (2) on the latest date for which information is available.

Ian Austin: holding answer 12 October 2009
	We have published on the Communities and Local Government website tables showing affordable housing completions from 1991-92 for both new build and acquisition.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1000.xls
	The following table shows the total expenditure through the Affordable Housing Programme over the years 1999-2000 to 2008-09 together with the average grant per unit for each year.
	
		
			  Allocation year  Total AHP e xpenditure (capital)  (£ million)  Allocation cost per unit 
			 1999-2000 815 28,454 
			 2000-01 830 36,697 
			 2001-02 823 47,640 
			 2002-03 1,030 56,874 
			 2003-04 1,805 62,988 
			 2004-05 1,624 63,639 
			 2005-06 1,598 54,556 
			 2006-07 1,923 60,588 
			 2007-08 2,004 59,729 
			 2008-09 (provisional) 2,625 65,773 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency 
		
	
	As set out in the Homes and Communities Agency's Corporate Plan we are expecting to invest £3,248 million and £2,480 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively through the Affordable Housing Programme. Schemes bid for grant on a competitive basis. The HCA receive bids on a continuous basis and assess them against set criteria including value for money, as a result grant per unit for any year is not available until after year end.
	The number of households registered on local authority housing waiting lists in each local authority, as at 1 April each year from 1997 to 2008, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. Where local authorities and registered social landlords operate a common register, households registered with the RSL will be included in the data. However, registered social landlords are independent bodies and can keep their own waiting lists. The link for this table is as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table600.xls

Social Rented Housing: Finance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what capital funding his Department has provided for social housing in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: The following tables show the funding provided through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme for social rent and low cost home ownership in South Tyneside local authority, the North East Region, and England in each year since 1997.
	
		
			  Affordable Housing Programme expenditure in South Tyneside 
			  £ million 
			   Social rent  LCHO  Total social rent and LCHO 
			 1997-98 0.65 0.35 1.00 
			 1998-99 0.91 0.13 1.04 
			 1999-2000 1.24 0.42 1.66 
			 2000-01 0.59 0.11 0.70 
			 2001-02 0.97 0.13 1.10 
			 2002-03 2.44 0.12 2.56 
			 2003-04 4.23 0.11 4.34 
			 2004-05 1.44 0.07 1.51 
			 2005-06 3.87 0.05 3.92 
			 2006-07 2.64 0 2.64 
			 2007-08 1.57 0 1.57 
			 2008-09 1.52 0.03 1.55 
		
	
	
		
			  Affordable Housing Programme expenditure in North East Region 
			  £ million 
			   Social rent  LCHO  Total social rent and LCHO 
			 1997-98 17.29 4.46 21.75 
			 1998-99 15.45 2.57 18.02 
			 1999-2000 15.71 1.56 17.27 
			 2000-01 15.81 1.58 17.39 
			 2001-02 18.65 1.36 20.01 
			 2002-03 19.6 0.84 20.44 
			 2003-04 34.94 2.07 37.01 
			 2004-05 35.37 1.75 37.12 
			 2005-06 31.94 2.55 34.49 
			 2006-07 38.66 3.13 41.79 
			 2007-08 33.53 2.55 36.08 
			 2008-09 52.53 4.87 57.40 
		
	
	
		
			  Affordable Housing Programme expenditure in England 
			  £ million 
			   Social rent  LCHO  Total social rent and LCHO 
			 1997-98 456.47 159.29 615.76 
			 1998-99 446.51 115.75 562.26 
			 1999-2000 522.79 79.31 602.10 
			 2000-01 575.66 97.22 672.88 
			 2001-02 646.53 87.51 734.04 
			 2002-03 760.23 119.91 880.14 
			 2003-04 1,171.00 366.58 1,537.58 
			 2004-05 1,050.04 512.19 1,562.23 
			 2005-06 933.19 585.65 1,518.84 
			 2006-07 1,432.55 443.44 1,875.99 
			 2007-08 1,552.32 427.44 1,979.76 
			 2008-09 2,038.13 551.29 2,589.42 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS) Information on funding for affordable housing is not available by constituency.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Lapis Lazuli

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department's efforts to promote economic development in Afghanistan have included steps to support exploitation for trade purposes of its lapis lazuli resources.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) committed almost £4.2 million to a four-year programme (2004-08) aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Afghanistan Geological Survey and establishing a viable minerals industry (including Lapis Lazuli). Further information about this programme is available from:
	http://www.bgs.ac.uk/AfghanMinerals/Index.htm
	DFID is also working to improve the wider conditions for trade and investment by supporting Harakat (formerly the Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility). Further information on Harakat is available from
	http://www.harakat.af

Departmental Information Officers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many press officers his Department employs.

Michael Foster: The White Book, published by the Central Office of Information (COI) every six months, contains details of the Department for International Development's press team.

Departmental Travel

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) car hire,  (b) train travel,  (c) air travel,  (d) hotels and  (e) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Douglas Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively, and all spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July 2009 and can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.aspx

Overseas Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK bilateral aid he plans to allocate to each of the five fragile states identified in his new aid programme for job creation.

Michael Foster: As announced in DFID's 2009 Annual Report, the total planned expenditure by DFID in the next two years of the current comprehensive spending review (CSR) period in each of the five fragile states we identified earlier is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			 Afghanistan 123.5 123 
			 Nepal 46 56 
			 Yemen 35 50 
			 Nigeria 120 140 
			 Ethiopia 202 196

Overseas Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many jobs he expects to be created in  (a) Nigeria,  (b) Afghanistan,  (c) Nepal,  (d) Yemen and  (e) Ethiopia by 2013 under his new bilateral aid programme for job creation.

Michael Foster: We plan to create up to 1.25 million new economic opportunities across post-conflict and fragile countries in which we work by 2013. These include the five countries that were initially identified: Nepal, Ethiopia, Yemen, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Exact targets for individual countries have not yet been finalised.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what partners his Department has appointed to deliver his Department's bilateral aid programme for job creation in each of the five fragile states identified in that programme.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has many programmes in fragile states that deliver job creation. These work with a wide range of partners. We will meet our targets for job creation by expanding existing programmes and by establishing new activities where relevant. Partner selection will depend on specific contexts and will involve partner governments, the private sector and NGOs.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of bilateral aid allocated to the five fragile states identified in his Department's new programme for job creation will be delivered to the national exchequers of those five states.

Michael Foster: We are currently planning how to scale-up our job creation programmes but it is not possible at this stage to say what proportion will be disbursed through national exchequers.

Overseas Aid

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which country received the largest allocation of funding support from his Department in 2009; which country is expected to receive the largest such allocation in 2010; and for what specific purposes in each case.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development allocated the largest share of bilateral funding to the India country programme in the 2009-10 financial year (£275 million). We estimate that India will also receive the largest allocation of funding in 2010-11.
	DFID's support is focused on assisting the Government of India to improve the impact its public policies and services have on reducing poverty. It works in the following main areas: education; health and nutrition; inclusive growth; governance reform; rural and urban development; the management of natural resources; and the empowerment of the poor, especially women and other marginalised groups in Indian society. More detailed information on our programme in India is available on the DFID website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Security

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenditure his Department has incurred on engaging private security companies and private military companies for work undertaken in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan in each of the last three years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses the services of private security companies managed and administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. DFID's share of these is as follows. We do not contract with private military companies.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Iraq  Afghanistan 
			 2006-07 6.1 1.8 
			 2007-08 5.0 2.3 
			 2008-09 5.5 2.3

HEALTH

Arthritis: General Practitioners

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs have greater awareness of rheumatoid arthritis to enable earlier identification of the disease.

Ann Keen: The Department has published a good practice commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis which supports clinicians in identifying cases of rheumatoid arthritis and ensuring that they are set on the right pathway of care. This describes key symptoms, for example where patients should be referred for urgent treatment.
	General practitioners can also use the Map of Medicine to determine the best possible treatment options for their patients, including information on the various patterns of onset, diagnostic tests and medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(1).
	The Department has not made any specific assessment of access to or quality of care services for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
	It is the responsibility of primary care trusts as commissioners of healthcare services to ensure that their populations have access to the services that they require.
	The Department has published a good practice commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis. All 18 weeks commissioning pathways provide information to illustrate what services should be commissioned and provided in different levels of care. The guidance recommends that information is given to patients to help them understand and self-manage their condition at different stages of the treatment pathway.
	Your health, your way-a guide to long term conditions and self care provides people living with long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, with information about the choices that should be available to them locally to enable them to self care in partnership with health and social care professionals.
	NHS Choices also provides a wealth of information to assist patients in recognising the symptoms of a variety of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. The national health service guide to rheumatoid arthritis features information on the warning signs and symptoms of the condition and streaming of a rheumatologist outlining symptoms, treatment and aspects of living with the rheumatoid arthritis.
	(1 )The Map of Medicine is a map of best available research evidence and a best evidence clinical guideline. It displays this knowledge in an easy-to-use pathways format, reflecting the patient journey and provides a framework for creating local pathways.

Arthritis: General Practitioners

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs make information on rheumatoid arthritis available to the public.

Ann Keen: The central focus of Your health, your way-a guide to long term conditions and self care is to promote discussion between health and social care professionals and individuals with long term conditions about what options there are for self care and what support and information is available to help improve the way they manage their own health and well-being.
	The Department is also developing the Information Prescriptions programme which aims to empower people with long-term conditions and their carers by giving them information to help them better manage their condition and care.
	Information Prescriptions can be created through NHS Choices for a number of long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. Individuals can access this information directly, or alternatively, health professionals may provide the information during a consultation. Local versions of Information Prescriptions are being developed across the country and we are encouraging primary care trusts and general practitioner practices to develop directories of information and processes for providing personalised information to patients and their carers.

E.coli

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements there are to ensure that, when a case of E.coli infection is diagnosed, information regarding the diagnosis is passed to the Health Protection Agency.

Gillian Merron: When a local national health service laboratory makes a presumptive diagnosis of E. coli 0157, the laboratory should send the sample to the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) Gastrointestinal Infections Reference Unit at the Centre for Infections for confirmation of the diagnosis. The NHS laboratory is also encouraged to report suspect E coli 0157 cases by telephone to the HPA's local Health Protection Unit for rapid investigation and appropriate public health action. Where E. coli 0157 infection is suspected to be a food borne infection, notification is statutorily required.
	The HPA is currently putting in place an additional reporting mechanism for Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), a severe consequence of some E. coli 0157 infections so that when clinicians identify a case of HUS, they will alert the HPA.
	The Department has recently consulted on new statutory proposals to make all E. coli 0157 infections, Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and infectious bloody diarrhoea notifiable to facilitate more rapid detection of clusters of cases.

E.coli: Godstone Farm

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the Health Protection Agency's performance in containing the spread of E.coli from Godstone Farm; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The role of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in containing the spread of E. coli 0157 infection from Godstone Farm has been to provide health advice to the local authority, as the enforcing authority for Godstone Farm, and to the local primary care trust and the national health service, all of whom have responsibility for taking action. The advice the HPA has given has been acted upon and there has been successful prevention of the spread of infection from the farm. The farm closed on 12 September. With regard to the HPA's wider role in diagnosis, detection and surveillance of E. coli 0157 infection in respect of this particular outbreak, the HPA has already apologised for its lack of timely advice at the commencement of the outbreak and an independent investigation of the outbreak, has been announced by the HPA.

Health Visitors

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent health visitors were in post in  (a) the NHS and  (b) each primary care trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table showing the number of full time equivalent health visitors employed by the national health service in each primary care trust in the years requested, has been placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Parking

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2159W, on hospitals: parking, for what reasons income from charges on NHS staff for car parking at  (a) Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford and  (b) St John's Hospital, Chelmsford rose from 2006-07 to 2007-08.

Mike O'Brien: Car Park charges are not set or controlled by Ministers so the Department does not hold this information. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust, for the information requested, who are responsible for the charges on car parks.

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) maternity wards and  (b) maternity ward beds there were in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of maternity wards is not collected. A table showing the average daily number of available beds on maternity wards by both strategic health authority and national health service trust in England for each of the last three years has been placed in the Library.

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of women preparing for birth in the NHS who received support from the same midwife throughout pregnancy in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of women giving birth in the NHS who were offered a choice of  (a) location of birth,  (b) birth method and  (c) method of pain relief during birth in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The commitments made in Maternity Matters that women will be cared for by a named midwife throughout pregnancy and have choice of location of birth, birth method and pain relief during birth are for delivery by December 2009. We have made it clear through the NHS Operating Framework that delivering the Maternity Matters commitments is a high priority for action.
	The Department is working with strategic heath authorities (SHAs) to ensure the choice commitments are available. Every SHA now has plans in place to ensure high quality, personal care with greater choice over place of birth and care provided by a named midwife.

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the midwife to birth ratio was in  (a) England,  (b) each strategic health authority area and  (c) each primary care trust area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The midwife to birth ratio for each strategic health (SHA) authority in England is included in the following table. The data by PCT is not available.
	
		
			  SHA  Current full time equivalent midwife: births ratio 
			 North East 28.4 
			 North West 29.1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 34.1 
			 East Midlands 40.1 
			 West Midlands 32.9 
			 East of England 39.8 
			 London 34.0 
			 South East Coast 36.5 
			 South Central 40.3 
			 South West 32.6 
			 England 34.8 
			  Source: Census and Office for National Statistics, September 2008

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent maternity support workers were in post in  (a) the NHS,  (b) each primary care trust and  (c) each acute trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table showing the number of maternity support workers within the national health service, by primary care trust and acute trust has been placed in the Library.

Maternity Services: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on maternity services in  (a) England,  (b) each strategic health authority and  (c) each NHS trust in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows maternity expenditure by primary care trusts mapped to strategic health authorities (SHA).
	
		
			  £000 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East Midlands SHA 138,948 149,169 151,387 
			 East of England SHA 131,464 159,823 171,369 
			 London SHA 271,826 284,164 335,671 
			 North East SHA 88,551 90,422 91,001 
			 North West SHA 254,309 280,312 316,310 
			 South Central SHA 137,468 127,500 139,626 
			 South East Coast SHA 111,155 118,452 133,822 
			 South West SHA 128,545 164,714 182,529 
			 West Midlands SHA 176,080 198,565 215,736 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 178,431 213,775 231,112 
			 England total 1,616,777 1,786,896 1,968,563 
			  Source: NHS Summarised Accounts 2006-07 to 2007-08

Midwives

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent midwives were in post in  (a) the NHS,  (b) each primary care trust and  (c) each acute trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table outlining the numbers has been placed in the Library.

Midwives: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated to increase numbers of NHS midwives in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

Ann Keen: On 25 February 2008 the then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) announced a package of measures to improve maternity services with an additional £330 million over three years going out to primary care trusts (PCTs). This funding is available to expand the maternity work force.
	In addition we have provided a total of £1.5 million to strategic health authorities for 2009-10 and 2010-11 to support midwifery, recruitment, return and retention.
	It is for individual PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local population. The funding figures for 2012 are not available.

Midwives: Manpower

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the 4,000 extra midwives to be provided by 2012 have already been provided in each strategic health authority area; and how many he expects will be provided in each such area in each year to 2012.

Ann Keen: A table outlining the number of midwives in each strategic health authority area since 2006 is shown as follows.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in England by strategic health authority area as at 30 September each specified year 
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 England 24,469 25,093 25,664 
			 North East Strategic Health Authority area 1,276 1,288 1,331 
			 North West Strategic Health Authority area 3,959 4,010 3,892 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority area 2,445 2,449 2,472 
			 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 1,704 1,745 1,771 
			 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 2,770 2,861 2,850 
			 East of England Strategic Health Authority area 2,328 2,407 2,476 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 4,307 4,407 4,785 
			 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority area 1,760 1,820 1,915 
			 South Central Strategic Health Authority area 1,550 1,677 1,735 
			 South West Strategic Health Authority area 2,370 2,429 2,437 
		
	
	We do not hold current information on predicted annual midwife numbers by SHA. Local NHS organisations are best placed to plan and recruit the right people with the right skills to best meet the needs of the local population.
	We continue to work with local NHS organisations and monitor increasing midwife numbers.
	The latest NHS workforce census as at 30 September 2008 shows we have over 25,600 midwives employed in the NHS, the highest level since 1997. Primary Care Trusts have met our commitment to recruit an additional 1,000 midwives and the NHS is making good progress with its recruitment plans.

Midwives: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have enrolled on the Midwifery Return to Practice course in each of the last two years.

Ann Keen: The data we have received from strategic health authorities (SHAs) show 93 midwives enrolled on the scheme for 2008-09. Data are not available for 2009-10 as several courses will not commence until 2010.
	The Department has recently provided a total of £1.5 million to SHAs for 2009-10 to support midwifery recruitment, return and retention. Return to practice is only one way to increase midwifery numbers. Other local initiatives include leadership development in maternity services to support succession planning, retention plans and individualised plans for midwives due to retire to support them to remain in practice, maternity support worker development and midwifery project facilitators and mentors to support midwives on Return to Practice programmes to ensure newly qualified and recently returned midwives can integrate fully into the national health service.
	There are expectations that similar funding will be available to SHAs leading up to 2012.

Midwives: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places were available for midwifery in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The number of midwifery training places which were available in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Midwifery  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Degree 895 1,042 788 1,307 1,944 
			 Diploma 744 517 648 412 0 
			 Other 735 661 554 352 328 
			 Total 2,374 2,220 1,990 2,071 2,272 
			  Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns. 
		
	
	There has been a 38 per cent. increase in the number of students entering training to become a midwife since 1996-97 to 2,272 in 2008-09.

Midwives: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the attrition rate from  (a) three-year and  (b) 18-month midwifery courses in each strategic health authority was in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Information on attrition rates from 18-month midwifery courses is not held centrally.
	Attrition rates from three-year midwifery courses in each strategic health authority (SHA) from 2003-04, the earliest year available, are shown in the following table. Students from later cohorts have yet to graduate.
	
		
			  Midwifery attrition rates 
			  Percentage 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  SHA  Diploma  Degree  Diploma  Degree  Diploma  Degree 
			 North East 42.9 17.6 28.6 14.0 n/a 13.79 
			 North West n/a n/a n/a n/a 10.47 12.50 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 10.8 23.3 13.5 9.3 30.77 14.58 
			 East Midlands 10.4 27.9 10.7 32.4 17.81 8.57 
			 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 20.69 
			 East of England 9.0 n/a 7.7 7.1 18.88 15.38 
			 London 15.0 7.7 8.2 23.6 1.47 13.54 
			 South East Coast 35.5 18.2 26.2 13.4 n/a 14.97 
			 South Central 42.1 15.9 54.8 2.5 21.92 16.95 
			 South West 28.8 14.7 23.8 31.0 30.0 20.56 
			  Notes: 1. Some SHAs could not provide data for 2003-04 and 2004-05. 2. 2005-06 cohorts still have large numbers of students yet to graduate so figures should be treated as provisional.

Midwives: Training

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwifery training places were commissioned by his Department for the 2008-09 academic year.

Ann Keen: The national health service strategic health authorities commissioned 1,944 midwifery degree training places and 328 18 month diploma training places for the 2008-09 academic year.
	There has been a 38 per cent. increase in the number of students entering training to become a midwife since 1996-97 to 2,272 in 2008-09.

Midwives: Vacancies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwifery vacancies in the NHS there are; and what the  (a) three-month vacancy rate and  (b) total vacancy rate for NHS midwives was in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The latest NHS Vacancy Survey shows that there were 191 midwifery three month vacancies (1 per cent. of the midwifery work force) in the national health service in England on 31 March 2009.
	The three month vacancy rate and total vacancy rate for NHS midwives in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  The NHS Information Centre for health and social care vacancies surveys March each year vacancies in England for qualified midwifery staff 
			  Percentage 
			   Three month vacancy rate  All vacancies rate 
			 2005 1.8 - 
			 2006 1.0 - 
			 2007 0.5 - 
			 2008 0.8 2.1 
			 2009 1.0 3.4 
			  Notes: 1. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post from the previous September non-medical workforce census (full-time equivalent). 2. Three month vacancies are vacancies as at 31 March which trusts are actively trying to fill which had lasted for three months or more. 3. Total vacancy rates are vacancies expressed as a percentage of total vacancies plus staff in post from the previous September non-medical workforce census (full-time equivalent). 4. A vacancy is defined as one which employers are actively trying to fill as at 31 March. 5. Not available. Total vacancies were collected for the first time in 2008.  Sources: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Vacancies Survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sickness days were taken as a result of assaults of staff in each NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available; how many working days were lost per staff member as a result of assault in each NHS trust area in that year; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to NHS trusts of working days lost as a result of assaults on NHS staff in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
	If a member of staff is assaulted on duty, a record must be made and maintained locally as a requirement under health and safety legislation.

NHS: Foreign Workers

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses from developing countries have joined the NHS in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department does not have a clear definition, nor a list of nations classified as being, developing countries. A table containing details of the country of qualification of doctors, broken down into the United Kingdom, European economic area, outside the European economic area and unknown country of qualification has been placed in the Library. The country of qualification for nurses is not collected. It must be stated that the country of qualification does not necessarily denote that this is the birth land of the individual.

NHS: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of the NHS pension scheme are expected to reach scheme pension age in each of the next 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Membership data as at 31 March 2006 was provided by National Health Service Pensions to the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). GAD estimates there are 560,000 active members of the scheme within 10 years of their normal pension age. This equates to around 440,000 members with a normal pension age of 60 aged over 50 and around 120,000 members with a normal pension age of 55 aged over 45. The average retirement age from the scheme is 62.

Obstetrics: Gynaecology

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent obstetrics and gynaecology consultants were in post in  (a) the NHS and  (b) each acute trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table outlining the number of full-time equivalent obstetrics and gynaecology consultants in post in the national health service and each acute trust in each of the last five years has been placed in the Library.

Paediatrics

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent paediatricians were in post in each strategic health authority in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The following table outlines the number of full-time equivalent paediatricians in post in each strategic health authority in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical staff within the paediatric group of specialties by Strategic Health Authority England at 30 September each year full time equivalents 
			2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			All staff  of  which  Consultant  All staff  of  which  Consultant  All staff  of  which  Consultant  All staff  of  which  Consultant  All staff  of  which  Consultant 
			 England  5,995 1,738 6,321 1,569 6,603 1,985 6,600 2,012 7,000 2,073 
			 
			 North East Q30 347 114 339 121 364 129 375 128 382 133 
			 North West Q31 813 225 877 233 873 238 800 253 1,027 270 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber Q32 611 182 645 200 639 202 725 209 697 214 
			 East Midlands Q33 420 119 470 128 458 134 479 146 489 156 
			 West Midlands Q34 566 168 547 166 615 191 634 202 651 197 
			 East of England Q35 485 154 538 173 535 173 556 179 562 178 
			 London Q36 1,434 413 1,540 452 1,657 494 1,629 471 1,667 473 
			 South East Coast Q37 429 112 452 119 492 132 450 124 468 129 
			 South Central Q38 421 130 427 133 451 138 454 140 497 152 
			 South West Q39 469 123 486 144 519 154 498 158 560 172 
			  Notes: Data are full time equivalents rounded to the nearest whole number.  Data Quality Workforce statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses. This work remains the sole and exclusive property of The Information Centre and may only be reproduced where there is explicit reference to the ownership of The Information Centre.

Social Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 106 of his Department's Green Paper, Shaping the future of care together, what estimate he has made of the percentage of the costs of the partnership option which could be met from the existing social care budget.

Phil Hope: Full figures relating to the proposals outlined in the Green Paper are contained within the impact assessment, a copy of which has previously been placed in the Library.
	These are ongoing costs to the care and support system in comparison to the current system. These are indicative only, and are based on a set of modelling assumptions, as well as estimates about likely mechanisms for implementation.
	If this funding model was implemented we would expect these costs could be substantially revised and refined depending on the funding available. Costs would have to be met from within the public spending envelope set for future spending reviews, which will be in line with the plans for fiscal consolidation set out at Budget 2009. There would also be one-off costs relating to the change of system, which are not quantified.

Social Services: Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for publication of his Department's report on nutrition in care settings; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We expect that the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board's final report will be published later this year.

St. Thomas' Hospital

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to maintain the standard of service provided by the specialist stroke unit at St Thomas' Hospital.

Ann Keen: This is a matter for the local national health service.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what grants his Department and its predecessors made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the previous reply given on 22 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1697W, to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink).
	This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many registered childminders there have been in each local authority area in the North West in each quarter of each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of registered childminders in each local authority area in the North West Region in each year since 1997 has been placed in both Libraries.
	Quarterly data are only available from March 2003 onwards. Data were not collected in 2002 because of the transfer of responsibility to Ofsted.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what IT systems have been in development for use within his Department in the last five years; what the reason for the development of each system was; how much has been spent on the development of each system; and which systems have been subsequently  (a) implemented,  (b) terminated prior to implementation and  (c) terminated following implementation.

Diana Johnson: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Procurement

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of procurement contracts his Department and its predecessors awarded to small businesses in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to table 8.4 of his Department's Annual Report 2009, page 176, to which programmes  (a) the 2009-10 and  (b) the 2010-11 budget for (i) the Youth Task Force and (ii) Youth Programmes has been allocated.

Dawn Primarolo: The breakdown of the Youth Task Force and Youth Programmes, which are shown aggregated in DCSF's departmental annual report 2009, are provided in the following tables for the years 2009-10 and 2010-11:
	
		
			  Departmental report allocation 
			  £ 
			   2009-10  2010-11 
			  (i)Youth Task Force Programmes   
			 Youth Task Force-Communications 2,000 3,256 
			 Youth Task Force Research and grants 10,046 3,597 
			 Youth Task Force Programmes total 12,046 6,853 
			
			  (ii)Youth Programmes   
			 Contact Point (Capital) 3,800 35,200 
			 Youth Challenge Fund 800 4,300 
			 Workforce Development Capital Grant 218 218 
			 National Youth Agency (NYA)/National Voluntary Youth Agency (NVYO) Grants 1,000 8,000 
			 Children and Families Directorate (CFD) Capital Grant 13,160 21,334 
			 Voluntary Child Services (VCS) Children Young People and Families (CYPF) Grant and capacity improving 29,807 21,802 
			 Communications/Participation/Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) 1,614 864 
			 Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS)/Integrated Children's System(ICS)/Making Safeguarding Everyone's Responsibility (MSER)/Adoption Strategy/Quality Protects (QP) 67,033 59,523 
			 Family Fund Trust/Contact a Family 25,332 23,322 
			 10 Year Strategy Additions (including Youth Facilities, Community Cohesion, Youth Crime Prevention, Do it for real, Vetting and Barring, and Young Media Fund) 39,142 66,000 
			 Youth Sector Support 40,730 40,000 
			 Peer Mentoring 240 240 
			 Youth Programmes total 222,876 280,803

Members: Correspondence

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will send a copy of his reply to the letter of 21 September 2009 from Mr. Christopher Curtis, the headmaster of St. Bede's School, Redhill, to the hon. Member for Reigate, to whom the original letter was copied.

Diana Johnson: The Department's correspondence target is to answer all items of correspondence from within 15 working days of receipt. Mr. Curtis's letter was received in the Department on 29 September and, in line with this target, a full reply will be sent on or before 20 October. In line with information legislation it is not the Department's practice to send a copy of final replies to copy recipients unless advised to do so by the correspondent. The hon. Member may wish to approach Mr. Curtis directly to ask if he will provide him with a copy of the letter.

Primary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children attended  (a) two,  (b) three,  (c) four,  (d) five and  (e) 10 primary schools in each of the last 10 academic years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested would require substantial new analysis. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Discipline

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what forms his Department issues to schools to complete relating to disruptive pupils; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such form.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not issue forms for schools to complete when dealing with a disruptive pupil. However our guidance on the use of force to control or restrain pupils strongly advises schools to maintain systematic records of significant incidents and provides a model record form that they are able to use for this purpose. A copy of that guidance, including the model form, is shown in the following link:
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=12187

Pupils: Teachers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the pupil to teacher ratio in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools is in each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is published in table 27 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) School Workforce in England (including local authority level figures) January 2009 (Revised) published on 29 September 2009. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000874/Tables19to27_Vals.xls

Schools: Broadband

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support is available to introduce broadband services into primary and secondary schools.

Diana Johnson: The introduction of broadband into primary and secondary schools has been supported by both funding and regional support networks. Targets were set for over 99 per cent. of schools to be connected by the end of 2006, and by that date 98.96 per cent. of primary schools and 99.82 per cent. of secondary schools were reported as connected. Funding continues to be made available for the introduction of broadband and its use via the Harnessing Technology and School Development Grants and 10 regional broadband consortia support schools in their areas and nationally through the National Education Network.

Schools: Sports

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost to the public purse of undertaking the most recent Schools Sport Surveys was.

Iain Wright: The cost of undertaking the annual School Sport Survey in 2008/09, via the DCSF's contractors TNS, was £296,628 including VAT.

Secondary Education: Per Capita Costs

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding per secondary school pupil has been allocated in  (a) Sunderland and  (b) England for 2009-10.

Vernon Coaker: The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) guaranteed per pupil unit of funding (GUF) for 2009-10 for Sunderland is £4,137. The average guaranteed per unit of funding for 2009-10 for England is £4,218. This is for all funded pupils aged three to 15 and is in cash terms. Separate figures are not available for secondary schools as funding is not allocated by phase.

Teachers: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many members of the teachers' pension scheme are expected to reach scheme pension age in each of the next 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The following table shows the number of in-service teachers who will reach age 60-the normal pension age (NPA) for existing members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) on 1 January 2007-in the next ten years. Since January 2007 any new entrant to the TPS has a NPA of 65. There will also be a number of out of service teachers who will become eligible for their pension benefits over the next 10 years.
	
		
			  Membership of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS)( 1)  by age, March 2008, provisional-England and Wales 
			   In service 
			  Age  Full-time  Part-time( 2) 
			 50 15,810 5,870 
			 51 16,410 6,090 
			 52 16,900 6,150 
			 53 17,430 6,210 
			 54 18,210 6,480 
			 55 17,150 6,550 
			 56 15,820 6,810 
			 57 14,280 6,720 
			 58 12,280 6,690 
			 59 9,780 6,240 
			 Total 154,07 63,810 
			 (1) Teachers with recorded service in any establishment that is within the TPS (includes state funded schools, further education, and other higher and independent sector institutions that are members of the TPS).  (2 )Part-time teachers include a proportion who are not contributors to the TPS.   Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.   Source:  Database of Teacher Records.